In Search of Normality
by Punki-x-Munki
Summary: Bella is a two year old vampire, who has come to Forks to build a life for herself. How will the coven there react to her prescence? And how will she react to them? BE. Rated T, but may go up in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters etc... they all belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**This is my first fanfic, so i hope you like it. Please tell me on what i can improve on etc... I'd really appreciate it**

**Hope you like it**

* * *

I decided to move to a town called Forks. It was a small town, where the sun rarely shone. This was lucky for me. Forks is where my mum and dad met, and where they got married. I wanted to stay as close to them as possible, without being too close. I had finally gotten over my newborn frenzy: bad tempers and an insatiable thirst. I knew I was going to have to be careful here, I couldn't hunt the humans here without being noticed. I would have to run to the nearby cities to do so, where nobody tended to notice.

My story was that my parents were killed in a crash (a cliché I know), and that I was taken in by some relatives on the outskirts of Forks.

I actually had a house on the outskirts, but no one else lived there. My excuse was that they worked abroad a lot, that's why no one really knew them. I would take a lot of effort to pull off, but it was worth it. I had a chance at normality again.

I hadn't been so close to humans without killing them since now. I could resist the pull of their blood, and live among them. I had tried it a bit in Phoenix and L.A., and found I could manage it.

I had enrolled at the local high school in my junior year. Luckily I was only 17 when I was made, and so I could just about pull it off for two years.

Having to move after that would be difficult, being completely uprooted, and having to go somewhere else, where I would know no one. Even though it was essential, it was a tough part of being a vampire.

The thing I hated the most about our existence, being alone. I had not met anyone else like me. I was beginning to think I was the only one that existed, however part of me knew that wasn't true.

The only thing I remember about becoming a vampire is coming home from school one day and being forced into a back alley. As I fell over I hit my head and fell unconscious. I don't remember much after that, mainly pain, immense pain, like fire running through my veins. It was too much to bear, but I couldn't die. When the fire finally left my veins, and my heart stopped beating, I was alone in a small room on a bed.

I didn't know what had happened to me, I felt lost. The colours were so bright, everything was noisy, and the smells were overwhelming. And the burning in my throat, the way I felt so unbelievably thirsty, would not subside.

As I walked outside, I came into a back alley. I felt like no time had passed, I had simply decided to go outside, and I was there. A group of teenagers were gathered around a bin. I sniffed, and caught the scent of what they were smoking. But what really hit me, was the scent of them. Suddenly I became someone else: I was a hunter, a predator. I grabbed one of the lads nearest to me, and sunk my teeth into his neck as if it was butter. The other lads ran away shouting for help, but I didn't notice, I was too caught up in the soothing taste of the blood. It satiated my thirst, as it flowed down my throat. When the man's heart gave up, I dropped the body, horrified with what I'd just done. I ran away from there then. Not knowing where I was going, or what I was going to do.

The memory still makes me feel horrified with myself; though I know I couldn't have helped it. I just wished I could. Since then I was more careful, trying to feed on lowlife or criminals, rather than innocent people. It made me feel a bit better, though the fact that I was killing people still made me hate myself.

And now I am here, in control of myself, and ready to start a new life for a couple of years. It was my first day of school, and I was ready to go. It was already January, and everyone knew each other here, making it a bit more difficult for me to blend in. I wore dark clothes; a dark blue v-neck jumper, and some dark blue jeans. I could at least try to blend in. My eyes were the hardest to sort out, I could stand out just a little bit, if I walked around with bright red eyes. I had solved this problem by getting boxes full of brown contacts, my natural eye colour. Though it wasn't much like what my eyes once were, it would do.

I had quite a bit of money collected from the past two years, enough to get me a nice car, an Audi TT. I loved it, even if it did stand out a bit. My adoptive parents had a lot of money…or at least that's what I would tell anyone who asked.

I got into my car and out the keys in the ignition. As the car purred quietly, I took a few deep breaths, running over my story several times in my head. Making sure I was aware of every detail. I had to remember to put new contacts in every few hours, or after every class. I remembered how to act human, by fidgeting and breathing and looking around.

Once I was sure it was all sorted in my head I backed out of the drive. I drove towards the school slowly, resisting my urge to put my foot down. I was still fairly early as school didn't start till 9 o'clock, and it was 8.30 by my clock. I could just sit in my car and listen to some music.

When I got there, hardly any cars where in the parking lot; just a Volvo, an old BMW, and a Rover. No one was around yet, so I just parked my car and put a random CD on. It was Michael Bublé, which soothed my nerves a bit. As I sang along quietly with the music to myself, more cars started to enter the car park.

At quarter to nine, I got out of the car and walked over to the office to collect my timetable and map. The school was small though, so I was sure I wouldn't have a problem finding my way around. I opened the door to the office and walked over to the front desk. An older woman was sat behind it, typing something slowly up onto her computer. She looked up as I made an effort to make my steps actually make a noise. She looked shocked at first, but I just smiled at her, acting as if everything was normal. Even if it wasn't.

"Hi, I'm Bella Davies; I'm here for my timetable." I said to her, my voice very melodic. I had to change my last name, so no one would be suspicious. She stared for a few more seconds, and then looked away. Rooting through some papers in her desk, she picked up a set.

"Here you are, love. Everything you need. If you need help finding a class, just ask any of the pupils, I'm sure they will all be willing to help." I heard someone approaching the office, as I held my hand out to take the papers.

"Thank you very much," I said. The door opened and a young boy walked in.

"Ah Bella, this is Mike Newton, he is in your year. I am sure he will help you if you need anything." Said the receptionist. I turned to look at the guy. He was a bit taller than me, with short blonde hair. He was fairly cute. I smiled at him, and he just looked at me, as if in shock. He gave me the quick once-over, like most guys his age tended to do, and then smiled cautiously at me. I hoped I didn't get this reaction with everyone. I decided to break the ice.

"Hi, Mike. I'm Bella, I'm new here." I said to him fairly quietly. If I acted shy, then I wouldn't have to talk to many people. It took him a few seconds to regain control of his mouth.

"Er, hi. I'm Mike. I'd love to stay and chat, I'd really love to, but I have to sort something out. So I'll see you around. Maybe will have a class together," he said hopefully. Maybe my top was lower than I thought…

Finding my first class was easier enough, I had Spanish, which I was quite good at, having spent a bit of time in South America in the last couple of years. When the teacher came in, she sat me next to a quiet girl called Angela. We didn't speak much, she seemed incredibly shy. We exchanged introductions, and left it at that. We were studying food in Spanish, which I found fairly easy. I would have to be more careful though; the teacher was asking me how I knew so much. I told her I had lived for a bit in Spain.

I went to the toilets quickly after that lesson, noticing that there wasn't much left of my contacts. I put new ones in whilst in the cubicle. Before going out I flushed the toilet, even though I hadn't used it. There was a girl at the other end of the bathroom though, and I had to try and be normal. Washing my hands in the sink, I looked at the mirror in front of me. I could see why Mike was shocked. My skin was flawless, and a beautiful white colour. My slightly wavy hair was thick and shiny, and just longer than my shoulders. I was a flawless creature, designed to be beautiful, and designed to kill. I hadn't looked in a mirror properly since I had been made. It may be hard to believe, but I hated who I was to begin with, I didn't want to see a monster.

I walked out of the bathroom and into the corridor. My next lesson was Biology, which was great. It was my favourite subject back in Phoenix. I walked over to the block where my lab was and walked into the class, but the teacher wasn't there yet. So I looked around, to see where I could be sitting, but there was only one free seat. That was when I froze.

He couldn't be…could he? How was it possible, but he had to be. He had the same flawless skin, beauty beyond measure, he even smelt sweet, like me. And he was glaring at me, like I had done something wrong. He had bright amber eyes, and golden bronze hair that was a mess on the top of his head. I had to look away because his eyes were burning into mine. I felt like he could see what was behind my contacts. He probably could. There was no doubt he knew what I was. What was I going to do?

The teacher walked in at that moment, he was called Mr. Banner, according to my timetable. He looked at me, expectantly. I walked over to his desk.

"I'm Bella Davies; I'm a new student here." There were some quiet murmurs behind me, thinking I couldn't hear them. Two girls were asking each other who I was. Another guy on the back row was asking another guy if I was the hot girl he was in the office. I was shocked at that, as a voice I recognized as Mike's confirmed it. I would have to be careful with him.

"You can go and sit next to Edward, over there," He pointed towards the bronze haired boy, and I slowly went to take my place by him. He was staring, no glaring, at me as I sat down, but I avoided his eyes, concentrating on getting my pencil case and notebook out of my bag. The teacher came over to my desk and placed a textbook on my desk.

We were studying mitosis, a new topic to most people here. Not for me, as I had been in the advanced class back in Phoenix. The lesson mainly consisted of taking down notes, and doing questions. I did them slowly, to have an excuse not to look at him. As I wrote down my answers, I thought back to my memory of him, he was simply amazing. Beautiful wasn't enough to describe him, he was just perfect.

At the end of the lesson, he got up and went out of the classroom unbelievably quickly. I was surprised he could stay here, and that everyone else didn't notice his inhumanness. I heard some quick steps coming towards my desk as I put my books into my bag.

"What did you do to Cullen? He shot out of here like his ass was on fire." Mike laughed, and I looked up to him.

"I don't know. I didn't speak to him, and he didn't speak to me." I answered him truthfully.

"I don't see why he wouldn't want to speak to you though." He seemed like he was torn inside. His tone was friendly, and slightly flirtatious, but his eyes showed the natural uncertainty that came with conversing with a creature like me. I smiled at him and walked to head out of the class, but I couldn't get away that easily.

"So what's you next class?" He asked me. I looked at my timetable, and I had P.E. next. When I told him this his eyes lit up.

"I have P.E. too, great. Let me walk you to the gym." His eyes showed his uncertainty again. It was as if something inside him was telling him to run away from me, but I my body was telling him to stay. As we walked I thought about what was going to happen with the other vampire. Did this mean there were more of us? Did he know more? Had I broken any ancient vampiric rules, or something? I was so scared about what would happen now that I started to shake slightly. Mike was holding his jacket out to me. I must have seemed cold.

"Here, you look a bit cold." I took his jacket out of courtesy and put it over my shoulders. His scent surrounding me, making my throat burn, but I put it to the back of my mind. He was _innocent_, I kept telling myself. We reached the gym and I handed his jacket back him.

"Thanks Mike, it was really nice of you." He beamed at me, and his eyes seemed to lessen in his uncertainty.

"Well I'm going to go get changed. See you in a bit," He smiled then turned and walked towards the male changing rooms. I turned and walked into the girls changing rooms. They smelt extremely strongly of sweat, though that was probably just my sensitive nose. There were some toilets to the left and I walked over to them, needing to change my contacts again. This was going to get annoying. The last ones were still keeping the worst of the colour of my eyes away, but red was starting to seep through slightly. I took the other ones out gently, and put the new pair in.

It was unbelievably annoying having them in, my vision felt so impaired by them. Seeing all the little imperfections in the contacts. I walked out of my cubicle and washed my hands. Keeping up this act was so annoying. How did humans manage with all these little annoyances? Then again, I'd managed once.

All the other girls had arrived, and were getting changed. Luckily my scent was impaired by the sweat and aerosols the girls were using, that my thirst wasn't too bad. Of course seeing them getting changed was. I sat down on a bench in the corner of the room and avoided looking at any of the girls. Occasionally tucking my hair behind my ear, or crossing my legs.

One of the girls walked towards me. I looked up to her. She had brown hair which was straightened and kept back with a headband. She was quite pretty, but something about her screamed _fake_. I smiled at her, while she eyes me scrupulously. When she felt I had passed some sort of test of hers, or failed, she smiled at me she held out her hand to me.

"Hi I'm Jessica." She said, her voice nearly made me cringe, it was so nasal. Standing up, I took her hand gently in mine, being careful. She recoiled slightly at the touch of my cold skin, and my throat burned in desire for her blood. I dropped her hand.

"Bella," I said, trying to calm myself and not breathe.

"Well Bella, I hope you enjoy your time here in Forks." She smiled in a sickly sweet way, and walked away. I heard her saying to her friends a few benches away that my hand was so cold. Note to self: _Avoid touching humans_.

The teacher came in to the gym, telling us all to hurry up and get into the gym. I explained to her that I didn't have a kit yet, and she told me to sit at the side on the bench. I was glad about this for this lesson. If I wanted I could excel at every sport there was, so I had to see the skill levels of the people here, and work around that. I had been practicing doing this at several gyms, trying to make sure that I miss a few shots, and let my other team actually take part.

We were playing volleyball this term, which was easy enough. As I observed them, I carried on my train of thoughts from before.

I knew I would probably have to speak to him before long, but I didn't want to. I was scared. I didn't know how old he was, who he knew, if he knew other vampires, if I had done something I shouldn't. I started shaking slightly again, scared for my life. I wanted to run away from all this, but I knew I couldn't. I wanted to be normal; I was just going to have to talk to him. Even if I didn't want him. Though I admit, I was a bit curious. I didn't know anything about anyone else who was like me. He could provide me with answers I'd never gotten.

That was assuming he was actually a vampire. Perhaps I was overreacting, perhaps it was all just a coincidence, and he was just really pale. He could just happen to smell like me, and he might just not have liked something I did, or have heard something about me, that could have been why he was glaring at me.

I held that hope close to me, and prayed I was overreacting. Suddenly a ball flew towards me. As I caught it, one of my nails cut it and it popped. Oh no! Everyone in the class were looking towards me, trying top work out what happened. I looked towards the teacher, who had her eyebrows raised.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened." Most of the class just shrugged and went back to their games, not really caring. I looked at where the ball had come from; it was from Mike's team, which Jessica, I saw, was in.

Standing up I walked to the gym teacher.

"I'm sorry. I'll go throw this away." She nodded and I almost ran out the gym, hearing the teacher throwing Mike's team another ball.

I ran outside and breathed deeply. I was going to have to be a lot more careful if I wanted to stay here without too much suspicion. I walked to a nearby bin, and deposited the ball in it. I walked slowly back towards the gym, calming myself. I walked in quietly and took my place on the bench again. Fortunately the lesson was not far from finishing.

Ten minutes after my return, the teacher dismissed the class, and we all went back to the changing rooms. As they all got changed, I sat down again in my corner. I was still a bit shook up with what happened. It was a lot to take in all in one day, the fact that there may be others like me, and that if I wasn't careful I would have to leave here.

Dinner was next though, so I would have plenty of time to think over things. As soon as the bell went, I made my way quickly towards the canteen. I couldn't eat anything, but I could at least pretend. I bought a bottle of water and an apple and sat on my own, in a corner of the room. Observing everyone who came in, looking for Edward, from biology. I wasn't waiting long, as he came through the doors looking amazing. What shocked me more was that following him, was another one, like him.

She was fairly short, and hat short black hair. She looked very much like a Pixie, and moved incredibly gracefully. More strikingly, she was as pale as me or Edward, and had the same colour eyes as him. It hadn't occurred to me before, but their eyes were different to mine, and I hadn't noticed that they were wearing any contacts. Why were they so different?

They both turned to look at me, as they came in, but then turned away and walked over to a table, at the opposite side of the canteen to me. I was still in clear view of them though, and Edward was staring at me. The girl grabbed his hand, and tried to get his attention. He looked away from me and talked in a voice what was deliberately quiet, so I couldn't hear. I carried on looking at the people who came in, which is when I was shocked once again, when three more walked in, looked at me, and went to sit by the other two.

There was a beautiful blonde girl, who glared at me, and hissed slightly, a blonde haired male, who was covered in scars which screamed _dangerous_ to me, and a black haired male, who seemed to be smirking slightly. They also spoke too quiet for me to hear, which was really annoying.

Edward started glaring at me again. I was shocked at the hostility that seemed to come from this group. I didn't know what I had done wrong, but I also knew that I didn't a chance against these, if they didn't like me. The black haired guy had huge muscles, and looked like he could crush me with his little finger. Edward's glare never let up, and I was started to get annoyed. The longer it went on, the more annoyed I got.

I growled lightly under my breath, so that no one around me heard me, but he did, because he growled back in response. The others all turned to him and tried to get his attention back. All but the blonde girl, she hissed at me. I hissed back instinctively, before realizing that I shouldn't show hostility towards them.

So I couldn't do anything else I would regret, I stood up and walked out of the canteen, throwing my lunch in the bin on the way. I went to sit outside on a bench and thought through my options. I could run, but that would mean I would be throwing away everything I had built for myself, and I didn't want to do that. Plus I was too stubborn to go. Only the blonde and Edward seemed openly hostile. The Pixie girl seemed curious. The blonde male seemed to defend Pixie girl, and the black haired male protected the blonde female. They were probably together.

If I stayed, what were my chances of survival? If they didn't want me there, there was no chance for me. Why, when I finally had a chance to be happy and normal did something have to come and ruin it? It wasn't fair. If I could cry I would be now, I was so scared. I hated not knowing what was going to happen. I felt overwhelmed, everything was happening too quickly.

My eyesight seemed strangely clear, and then I realized I hadn't changed my contacts, what with everything happening. No one was around thankfully, so I pulled the packet out of my back and put them in. I was being careless again; I couldn't carry on like this.

Once my eyes had adjusted to the horrible things, I stood up, intent on walking around the school, and calming down. I walked around towards the fields, where the guys were playing soccer. It was very fun to watch them bickering like little kids over the smallest thing. I never saw the point of the game when I was living, even less so now.

I moved to carry on walking, but I caught the scent of someone behind me. I span around and looked around. About 50m away from me stood Edward and the blonde haired guy, apparently watching the game. I was being followed now? I couldn't believe this! I felt like ripping their heads off! Who were they? Following me around here, as if I would do something wrong. As if I was hunting at the moment. I growled loud enough for them to hear, but too quiet for everyone else. I wouldn't risk exposure; then again, it would be fun to see how they reacted to _that._

A responding growl made me look to my left, where two more of them stood. The blonde girl and the black haired guy stood there. He was suddenly kissing her, probably to shut her up. I felt sick looking at them. I looked around and my suspicions were correct. The Pixie was stood across the field and looking directly at me. I was virtually surrounded. When I moved, they moved to compensate. I walked quickly parallel to the soccer field, whilst they followed me.

My frustration grew and grew. Why couldn't they let me be? I headed in the direction of the car park, aiming to go to my car and blare out some music. They would probably station themselves around my car but I couldn't do anything about that. As I headed towards there, I felt an unusual feeling on calm surround me, but I didn't want to be calm. I wanted to be annoyed, I wanted to rip there heads off and tear them to shreds, but somehow I couldn't be annoyed, or frustrated.

I reached my car, and climbed in. I closed the door, and put some Avenged Sevenfold on. Heavy metal was a great way to calm down. But was there any point now? I felt calm. I turned up the volume up nonetheless, and put it on. The guitars blared around the car. It was soothing in its own way. I looked out of my windows, and saw all the others positioned around on benches and leaning against the wall, looking as natural as possible.

I had half an hour to waste before the next lesson, what better way to spend it than stuck inside your car, surrounded by 5 vampires who keep following you around. So much for being normal and happy. I sobbed once before regaining control of myself. I saw the Pixie, who was stood with the blonde guy; look up to him with a concerned look on her face. I looked away.

The song changed, and _Scream_ came on, how ironic. The lyrics really reminded me of myself, it made me laugh humourlessly.

_I'll taste your blood tonight_

_You know I make you wanna scream_

_You know I make you wanna run from me baby…_

Definitely like me, I was a monster. Truly a monster. I sobbed again. I wanted to be alone, for a change. I wanted to be away from all this, like I was before. What was I thinking? I was risking the lives of everyone around me; everyone who came into contact with me was in danger. How could I be so selfish? I pulled my legs up to my chest, and put my head on my knees. I held myself together to prevent myself from breaking down. I hadn't hurt anyone yet, I had resisted my thirst. I could do this. I hoped.

* * *

**What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

I knew they could all see me curled up. They were probably wondering what the matter was, but I didn't care. I took a few deep breaths before turning the music off. I had to face my fears, I was going to talk to them, find out what there problem with me was. Especially that Edward. But when I got out of the car, they were gone. They wouldn't have gone far, but they had all disappeared as far as I could see. I wasn't about to chase them around though; if they didn't want to talk to me then they wouldn't let me.

I locked my car and walked towards the buildings. I reached the science lab and leant against the wall, wondering where they were, when Angela, from Spanish was walking past.

"Hi," I said to her, needing a distraction. She looked shocked to see me talking to her.

"Oh hi, Bella is it?" She asked me, in her quiet voice. I liked her.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me, I don't know where my next lesson is." A complete and utter lie, but like I said, I needed a distraction.

"Um, sure. Which room is it?" She asked

"It's in room 12. Sorry about this, I'm not very good with maps." I smiled at her, and she returned it.

"Ok, follow me." We were walking for less than 10 seconds when the Pixie girl came up to us. I looked at her, puzzled as to what brought her here. She didn't look at me, but smiled straight at Angela, who seemed as confused as me.

"Hi Angela, I was wondering when the chemistry homework was for. I have completely forgotten," She laughed, and it sounded like a tinkling of a bell. Angela took a second to recover before replying. I was suspicious now, as to why she was with us, she didn't forget, I was sure of it.

"Oh, it was for tomorrow. I haven't done it yet." She replied in her quiet little voice.

"Neither have I. I had the whole holidays to do it as well. I think I will have to ask Edward about it, I was totally confused. I don't understand ionic bonds." At the sound of Edwards name I grew furious and balled my hands up into fists. That calming feeling came over me again though. What was with this feeling?

"Oh, don't you? I can help you now if you'd like. I can explain while I walk Bella to English."

"That would be great! I'm in English next too. Room 12?" Angela nodded. She was asking Angela rather than me. I was convinced they sent her along, to make sure I wouldn't drain her on the way or something. The idea made me laugh, attracting Angela's attention. I avoided her gaze though, so I didn't have to explain myself to her.

They talked all about the homework they had on the way to the classroom. When we reached it, I thanked Angela and moved to hug her as a thank you, knowing it would give Pixie a heart attack. I put one arm around Angela and she did the same to me. Pixie just looked away, as if it didn't bother her one bit.

It annoyed me that she didn't get all worried, so I stormed into the classroom. However we were about 5 minutes early, so no one else was in here. I heard Pixie asking Angela more questions about the homework, before Angela said that she really had to go, so that she wouldn't be late.

The door opened then and I didn't look up, I already knew who it was. Even without the sweet smell, and virtually silent footsteps. I was sat down on the front desk, now knowing where I would be sitting. I heard her cough behind me.

I turned to look at her; she was smiling awkwardly at me. I raised an eyebrow at her, trying to keep my calm. She took a deep breath.

"I am so sorry about this dinner. I shouldn't be speaking to you, because Edward is going to be furious with me. I really didn't want to do the whole following you thing, but Edward and Rosalie insisted. I knew you wouldn't do anything, just like I knew you wouldn't with Angela, but Edward said we had to be careful…"

"Edward said?" I asked, getting very annoyed. "What would Edward know about me? If he had even tried to bloody well to speak to me, to get to know me, before he judged me, maybe he would realized that I'm not the kind of person who preys on innocent people."

"I know he should have tried to do that. But I can only say sorry for myself. And I want to ask you to meet up with me and the rest of my family after school. They want to speak to you." She said to me quickly. They wanted to speak to me? It seemed to me that it would be more like a court trail, my life, being debated over. But this would come sooner or later, so I suppose it was best to go voluntary.

"Sure, where and when?" She smiled, seemingly relieved.

"Why don't you follow our car after school, you can come back to our house. Don't worry; we just want to talk to you." She tried to reassure me, though I was past that point.

"Ok, which car is yours?"

"It's the Volvo, but I'll meet you outside your classroom. You'll be in chemistry, with Edward actually, but I don't think he will be all for talking to you at the moment, so I'll show you to our car…" She seemed to be more talking to herself than me.

"Wait…How did you know I was in chemistry?" I asked, confused as I hadn't mentioned that to her.

"Erm…" She faltered, "You're always in the same science groups and Edward mentioned that you were in his group," for some reason I didn't believe her. I didn't push the matter though, because a couple more people came through the door just as the bell went. I turned away from the pixie, but realized I didn't know what her name was.

"Alice," She said behind me. How did she do that? Could she read my mind? I shuddered, but didn't turn around. The teacher presently walked in. He looked at me puzzled at first, but then he understood.

"You must be Bella, the new girl. I'm Mr. Berty, the English teacher. Now where can we sit you?" He said to himself. He looked around, before seeing the empty space next to Alice. He pointed to it.

"You can go sit next to Alice." I sighed lightly, so he wouldn't notice, and walked over to my new place.

I sat down and pulled out my things. This term, we were told, we would be continuing Romeo and Juliet. I smiled at this; I loved the play and had read it many times. Alice laughed lightly to my left, but I didn't ask her what was funny.

"As revision, I will give each pair a scene from the first two acts of the play. You are to practice the scene and will perform it to the rest of the class on Wednesday." He started handing out scripts to us all. Alice turned to me, smiling widely. We got our script.

NO! How typical, we get the balcony scene.

"Oh, good. I love this scene! So, are you going to be Juliet, and I Romeo? Or the other way around?" She asked, but I couldn't be bothered deciding.

"You decide," I mumbled.

"Ok, you can be Juliet. So let's practice," She took a copy of the script and held the other one out to me. I took it and looked at. The entire first bit was just her.

She spoke her lines so melodically, that all the pairs around us had stopped to listen. Mr. Berty noticed and told them to get on with their work, but he himself seemed mesmerized. When Alice had finished her first bit, it was my first line.

"Ay me!" I said. As we carried on with our parts, everyone else around us became more and more interested in us, and Mr. Berty had to tell them more than once to get on with their work. We gave each other bits of advice, and started discussing the play, and the hidden meanings in the text. I was actually starting to enjoy myself when the bell went. I smiled at Alice before packing away my things.

"Can I walk you to your next class, Bella?" I was taken back by this, but agreed.

"Yeah, sure. As long as you won't be late for yours." She just winked at me and grabbed my hand. Her hand felt nice in mine, natural. She pulled me out of the classroom, and headed with me to the science block. We walked in silence, but it wasn't awkward silence, it was comfortable. When we got to the classroom, Edward was standing outside, looking furious. His hands were in fists at his sides, and his lips were a thin line. Alice didn't seem afraid though. She just looked at him. After a minute or so he sighed.

"We'll talk later Alice," He said. Wow, his voice. It was so…like velvet, so smooth. Even when he was mad. It was amazing. He stalked off into the classroom, without even looking at me, that threat sent shivers down my spine, even with his voice, but Alice seemed unconcerned. She hugged me.

"See you after the lesson, Bella." And she skipped off.

There was no one else around so I grabbed the box of contacts and changed the ones that were in .I took a deep breath, as a matter of preparation, and then walked into the classroom. The teacher was sorting through his papers. He looked up at me, as I made an effort to make noise as I walked. He smiled.

"Ah, the new girl, Bella." This whole new girl thing was getting tiring. I just wanted to fit in. "We have a seat free next to Edward, if you'd like to sit there." I nearly told him I wouldn't like to, but I held my tongue. I walked over to Edward, who was pointedly avoiding my gaze. I sat down and the lesson began.

Again we sat in silence. Both of us refusing to talk to each other. Boy, practicals were going to be difficult in the future. The lesson was boring, I had done it before. And when the end came, I was all too eager to leave. I quickly packed my bags and stood up to leave the classroom. Edward seemed to be taking his time as I walked away. As she promised, Alice was waiting outside the door, smiling at me. It felt strange for her to be taking me to the place where I would probably be discussing whether I am allowed to live or not.

"Come on. Let's go to the car park." We walked again in silence. When we got there she pointed out the Volvo I had seen this morning.

"That's our car, you can follow us. Actually, I might ask…"

"No! Alice, get in the car." came Edwards's voice, from behind us.

"But Edward, nothing is going to happen. I'll be fine." Alice argued

"You don't know that for sure."

"Edward. Are _you_ betting against _me_?" Alice's voice was slightly mocking. I raised my eyebrows slightly wondering if Alice had some sort of gambling addiction.

Edward just stood there silently glaring at Alice. Alice didn't look scared, nor did she look away. The blonde guy walked over to Alice's side.

"Alice, come on. He's right." He said to her

"No, I won't Jasper. Not until he admits he is being over the top, as usual. What is your problem Edward? We will be right behind you, nothing will happen. I would know if it was going to wouldn't I? For goodness sake, get over yourself, and let me go with her!"

Wow, she really told him, and he didn't seem to appreciate it. He moved towards Alice, his fists so tight that his skin on his knuckles was really stretched. Suddenly that air of calm came over us all again, and Edward moved back and relaxed his hands, glaring at the one called Jasper. I saw Alice look up at Jasper appreciatively, and I became even more confused.

"Fine, go, it's your life." He said, and walked over to the driver's side of the Volvo. Alice turned to me and smiled. She walked to the passenger side, as I got in at the driver's side. I didn't bother to do my seatbelt up; it wasn't as if I was going to crash. I saw her looking at my stash of cds.

"You can put one on if you'd like."

"Thanks," She said and pulled one out, and put it on.

"You know, you should have just gone with them Alice, rather than arguing." I said to her over the music, as she hadn't turned it down from the volume I had it on at dinner. She shrugged.

"Edward needed telling. Plus I like you." I smiled at her. It meant a lot to me as no one had said anything so nice in a long time. The journey to their house didn't take long, because Edward drove so fast. I didn't have a problem with that though. When we reached the entrance to their driveway I thought '_Finally'_ but it was about a mile long. It was crazy!

When we finally reached the house I was amazed. It was _huge_ and beautiful. We both got out of the car, but everyone else was already inside. I guess they didn't have to pretend here.

I followed Alice up the steps and into the front room. Everyone was sitting there watching us, some glaring. There were two more vampires here (how many more were there?). There was a handsome blonde male, and an older female. Not past her twenties when she was turned by the looks of things, same with the guy. They were both smiling at me. I tried to smile back but I was genuinely scared.

I was in a room with 7 vampires, who I didn't know, and I didn't know how they treated newcomers. Before today I didn't even know more existed! I looked around, keeping tensed and alert.

"Jasper," said the blonde male, and Jasper nodded. Instantly I felt relaxed and at ease. How could I feel this way in this kind of situation? The blonde male stood up and approached me. I took an instinctive step back, but he held both his hands up, indicating no harm. As he took a step forward, I stood my ground and looked him in the eyes; they were the same as the others. He held out his hand to me, and I cautiously took it, even if I didn't want to. His hand felt slightly warm in mine, like Alice's had, and natural. We dropped out hands.

"Hello, I'm Carlisle." He said to me

"Bella," I replied stiffly. Everyone else had stood up and were stood around me. I felt slightly surrounded, and took up a slightly defensive stance. Carlisle noticed.

"Move back a bit everyone, you're surrounding her." He told them. They all moved back and gave me some space. "I don't know if my family have introduced themselves to you but this is Alice," she waved at me, smiling, "This is Rosalie," he pointed to the blonde girl who was glaring at me. Someone said her name, chiding her. I think it was the older female. "This is Emmett, Rosalie's husband," He pointed to the muscular, black haired guy, who smiled at me slightly, "That's Jasper," Jasper just stared at me, as if he was trying to figure me out, "This is my wife, Esme," he pointed to the older woman. She must be the maternal figure of the family, and she smiled at me lovingly. "And finally Edward," Edward made no notion of greeting; he simply stared at me, seemingly frustrated.

"Hi," I said to them all quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews for the last two chapters, I really appreciate it.  
****Because I'm not American, there may be a few mistakes culture-wise and stuff, so I apologise in advance.**

* * *

"So Bella, what brings you to Forks?" asked Carlisle. He seemed friendly enough, and his posture was relaxed. I wanted to remain tensed and ready for an attack, but I couldn't help but feel calm. It was annoying me.

"I wanted to make a new start with my life. I've been wandering around for a while, doing nothing, and I wanted to actually do something. Being on my own was started to get a bit boring too. I felt like actually having a life somewhere which would let me be close to people. And I wanted to be normal." I whispered the last bit. Becoming a vampire was still a tender subject for me.

"Were you on your own?" Carlisle asked, sounding concerned. I nodded in response. "But didn't you have a maker? Someone to look after you in the first few years."

"I had no one. I don't know who made me. I was knocked unconscious in a back alley. After that I was in immense pain all over my body. When I woke up I was in a small room on my own. I didn't know what had happened to me, but I soon found out… I travelled after that. I went to South America for a little while. I was searching for someone like me, but I never found anyone. You are the first people I have found like me."

"Not completely like you," muttered Edward. Carlisle shot him a glare before turning to me.

"In a way, Edward is right. Our diet is different to yours. I can see you feed off of humans," My contacts must have dissolved, so he could see my eyes. "We, however, feed off of the blood of animals. That is why our eyes are a different colour to yours." Well that explained the difference.

"How long are you staying in town, Bella?" Asked Esme. She seemed to be the mother figure in the house, along with Carlisle, who was the father figure.

"Hopefully for a few years, until I graduate and then maybe stay a year afterwards. Though that may be pushing it." I replied honestly, not seeing the point in lying.

"Where are you staying?" asked Alice, in her bell-like voice.

"I have a house on the outskirts of town. I'm staying there on my own."

"Well if you ever want some company, Bella, you are welcome here." Offered Esme. I smiled genuinely at her; it was nice to actually have someone be kind to me after such a long time.

"We just have to ask a few things of you Bella." Said Carlisle. I nodded, and signalled for him to continue. "I can only ask that you don't hunt near to here. It would risk exposure and we want to avoid that at all costs. Also, do you know about the Quileute tribe?"

"No, I don't." I replied.

"Near to here is the La Push reserve. It is the land of the Quileute tribe. We have a treaty with them saying that we will not go onto their land. Nor will we hunt humans or make another of us." He explained about how the treaty had come about, and where the boundaries were. He also explained the whole thing about there being a pack of werewolves protecting the land. This took me by surprise. There were so many things in this world that I hadn't dreamt would exist. I took it all in, not wanting to start a war.

"All I ask is that you don't do anything that may break the treaty. I know the treaty doesn't involve you, but we don't want to make the wolves angry. Oh, and finally, would you mind giving our diet a try? It would be less conspicuous than a rise in murder rates in Seattle and Olympia. I'm not telling you to do so, merely requesting."

I considered what Carlisle was saying. It seemed fairly sensible. But surely the blood of animals couldn't taste as good as that of humans?

"I'll try it. It makes sense to." I answered. After I had said that Alice bounced over to me and took my hand.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have an English play to practice." She said to everyone.

Alice dragged me by my hand up to her room. It was magnificent. There was a balcony at the far end, with a beautiful view from it. You could see the forest for miles and on the horizon the clouds were tinted a slight pink as the sun set. I gasped quietly at the sight, and Alice laughed. Her laugh was like a wind-chime in a breeze.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She said, sighing contently. "Well I'll go grab my script, and I'll see you in a minute."

With that she dashed off, leaving me feeling confused.

"O, Juliet," Came her voice from outside. I walked over to the balcony and looked down at Alice, shaking my head. She was really keen to do this properly. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I thought a bit more authenticity might make this a bit more interesting. Now, come one!"

"Let me go get my script." Once I'd gotten my script out of my bag, I walked back over to her.

We ran through the scene a few times. After the fifth run through, we decided to call it a day.

"Fair Juliet, dost thou feel ready for Wednesday?" called Alice from below.

"Aye, I do," I replied, laughing. She smiled at me and disappeared. I had to admit that I'd had fun with Alice. With Alice putting on a male voice and me declaring my love for her. I was glad that her family had decided not to kill me.

By the time we had finished, it was nearly 9 o'clock, and it was dark. Alice came up to meet me, and to see me out.

We walked down the stairs and into the main room, where Edward was playing his piano and Carlisle was reading. As we walked into the room, Edward stopped playing his intricate, melancholy melody and turned to look at me.

"What is your power?" He said slowly. His voice had a slight hint of annoyance, and his eyes were tight. I didn't understand what he meant.

"Power?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A power, a gift, something special you can do. What is it?" He asked me, seeming to grow in annoyance, not hiding his impatience.

"What makes you so sure she has one Edward?" Enquired Carlisle, not understanding where Edward was coming from.

"Because I can't hear her!" He shouted, running his hand through his hair and breathing out sharply. Now I was completely lost, of course he could hear me. He had responded to me earlier, so he had to able to hear me. Alice seemed to notice my confusion.

"Not hear you speaking Bella. You see, Edward's ability is to read minds. And he can't read yours." I stood there, shocked.

"H-how?" I stammered out.

"We're not sure. It doesn't happen to all of us, just some. Like Alice, she can see the future, and Jasper, he can control people's emotions. We think it may be something to do with certain traits you may have possessed in your previous life. For example, Jasper was very charismatic in his human life. And Edward may have been sensitive to the thoughts of those around him." Carlisle explained patiently. It was a lot to take in.

"Well I don't have a power. There must be something wrong with my head, which will be why Edward can't hear me." I suppose I always knew that something wasn't right up there, but this just confirmed it. Edward snorted.

"Something's wrong with your mind. Of course…" He said sarcastically, and disappeared as he ran upstairs.

"Just ignore him; he's just annoyed he can't hear you. That's all." Alice said in a light-hearted tone. I think I was still in a state of shock, because I could barely nod. Alice and Carlisle exchanged a nervous glance, but I took no notice. I was still trying to make sense of everything, but I couldn't seem to comprehend everything.

"Maybe you should sit here for a bit," suggested Alice, sounding worried. I was unable to formulate a response as she led me to the settee. Carlisle tried to calm Alice down.

"Relax, Alice. It's a lot to take in for her within the whole of a few hours. Jasper?" He called. I was vaguely aware of another individual enter the room.

"Can you help her Jasper?" Carlisle asked quietly.

"You're the doctor Carlisle. All I'm getting from her is shock and confusion. If I tried to calm her down, this would all just come back at a later date. I'd just let her be." Jasper replied. I felt a hand on mine, probably Alice, squeezing gently.

"Usually I'd give someone a warm drink, but I can't do that…"

"Carlisle! Don't you have some packets of O negative blood here?" said Alice, her voice sounding excited.

"No! She is not drinking that in _this_ house!" Shouted Rosalie, though in my ears, it sounded like she was talking.

"We have to try and get her back, Rosalie. It is worth a try. Plus Alice will see if she is going to lose control or if anything else will happen." Carlisle reassured her. I heard someone walking to the door.

"Fine, but I'm having no part in it." The door closed and there was silence again.

"I will go and warm up some blood in the kitchen," said Carlisle. I didn't hear him leave, but suddenly a smelt a deliciously sweet smell. It was a bit off, but it made my throat burn all the same. I could feel myself coming back.

I heard something sloshing in a container, and suddenly my eyes locked on to the course of the noise. A cup was held in front of me.

My instincts took over as I took the cup from Carlisle. I gulped the blood down within seconds. It soothed the slight burning at the back of my throat. As I came to my senses, I noticed everyone was looking at me warily. Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper were standing in front of the others defensibly. Then I realised.

They were afraid of what I was going to do.

"It's ok, she won't hurt us. She's very calm, right Jasper?" Alice announced to the rest of them. Jasper nodded.

Carlisle relaxed after this announcement and moved to take the cup from me, but Edward and Rosalie stopped him. I stood up, and Rosalie snarled at me. It was strange that such a noise would come from such a beautiful creature. Alice came to my side and growled back.

"I'm going to leave now. Thank-you. I'm so sorry about what just happened," I whispered, not meeting any of their eyes, placing the cup on the table and backing away towards the door.

"If you need anything Bella, don't be afraid to ask. And if you'd like to try our way of life, we'd be more than happy to help," said Carlisle as I reached the door. As I turned to open it Rosalie spoke.

"As if she'd manage on animals. Did you see her then? God help you if you came between her and that cup."

"Shame flooded my body, and I ran out of the door. As I reached the long drive I heard Carlisle defend me, but he was out of earshot in less than a second. My car wasn't fast enough for me to get away, so I just ran. I slowed down as I reached the road, but only to a quick run. A few cars honked at me, but I ignored them.

It didn't take me long to reach my house, and once I was inside I lost control.

My vision became tinted with red. I threw the settee against the wall, causing some plaster to fall off the wall. My shame turned to fury as I smashed my fist through the armchair by the fire.

As I let my fury take over, I destroyed the hairs, the TV, the dining table and anything else that got in my way. I heard someone approaching me quickly, but before I could defend myself, my hands were pinned behind my back and I was on the floor next to a pile of feathers. Snarls ripped from my chest, aimed at whoever was restraining me.

I sniffed the air and found that I recognised the scent.

"Edward, you bastard! Let go of me!" I struggled but he was stronger than me. Unfortunately my newborn strength had all but gone.

"Not until you calm down and stop destroying the house! Do you realise how close the neighbours were to coming around? They're still considering it! Just because you live in a detached house doesn't mean that sound doesn't travel…"

As he ranted I felt myself calming down. I stopped struggling and relaxed under him. I found that I couldn't breathe, because every time feathers went up my nose or in my mouth. My vision returned to normal.

"Edward." I interrupted his lecture. "How did you know where to find me?" And how did you know what was happening?"

"Alice had a vision of you revealing us. I had to stop you. How could you be so careless…" Would he ever shut up?

"Listen, can you get off of me now. I'm calm…please," I pleaded, while more feathers went up my nose. He considered it, and then stood up, allowing me to rid myself of the blasted feathers and to brush myself off.

He didn't move too far from me, probably expecting me to explode again.

Now that I could look around, I could see the extreme extent of the damage I had done. Half of the settee was in the corner of the room with plaster from the wall powdered on top of it. The ripped cushions had spilled most of their lining, which explained the feathers. The pictures which once hung on the walls were now on the floor, their glass shattered and scattered across the room. Looking around the rest of the room, I saw more of my destruction.

I had put my fist through the television and smashed the television against the wall. Above the fire place was an empty spot where the mirror once hung. It was now at the opposite side of the room, with the pieces of the armchair, which I had pulled apart.

I couldn't look any more. I was even more ashamed of myself now. What was I thinking? Was I actually thinking? I felt like crying, but it was impossible. I sobbed silently to myself, my whole body shook with the intensity of it.

Edward touched my arm, but that made it worse when I realised how little I'd considered him and his family into my little tantrum.

I fell to the floor shaking, and still sobbing. Edwards looked lost as he knelt beside me, thinking of a way to comfort me. After a few seconds, he took me into his arms and pulled me against his chest, stroking my hair to calm me down.

Curling closer to him, I noticed how good he actually smelled. Like honey and lilacs, it was very soothing. We stayed like that for about ten minutes before he pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. I was just anxious," he whispered, looking me in the eye.

"Don't apologise. It was my fault. I overreacted, and I need to learn that there are better ways to deal with things than destroying my house." I replied, not looking away from his golden eyes.

"Let's both be sorry then," I wanted to argue and make his realise he didn't have to be sorry, but I decided it was better to get along with him than to argue with him. I extracted myself from his arms and stood up.

"Why did they send you? Why not Alice or Jasper? Or anyone else?"

"They didn't send me so to speak. Being able to read Alice's mind I was able to react the quickest when she had her vision. Also I can run the fastest." I shivered at his casual mention of their powers. I still hadn't gotten my head around that yet. Edward just laughed gently at me.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it eventually. Probably sooner than I'll get used to not being able to hear you." He grumbled. I was actually glad he couldn't hear my mind. It was my private place, reserved solely for me.

"Come up with a reason for that yet?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. He turned towards me and smiled that crooked grin, which would have stopped my heart. If it was beating in the first place.

"Well I don't think your head is messed up. Probably mine that it. I hear voices in my head, don't I? He laughed humourlessly. I felt a strange need to comfort him, but ignored it. He'd probably push me away anyway.

"Well, I better sort this mess out. And you'll be wanting to get back to your family to tell them that the disaster was averted." Luckily there was a tip through the forest behind my house, so I could rid of most of the broken furniture without arousing suspicion.

"No, I'll stay and help you. What kind of a gentleman would I be if I let you do all this by yourself?" I looked at him, confused as to why he was staying, but happy that he was.

"Oh then. I'm going to take the broken furniture to the tip." I picked up one half of the settee, while he picked up the other half. We then ran in silence through the forest for a few minutes before reaching the tip. We threw the settees onto a pile of rubbish, and then ran back.

As we were picking the next pieces to take he spoke.

"I would invite you back to our house tonight, after we've finished, but with the way Rosalie is acting, it may not be the best idea." He smiled at me apologetically.

"It's ok; I'll be fine on my own. And anyway, I don't deserve your hospitality. Not after tonight." He looked like he was going to argue with me, but I ran off with my next piece of furniture.

It took four more trips to get rid of everything. All that was left was the feathers, splinters of wood and shards of glass. I looked up to see him staring at me. He looked away after a fraction of a second.

"Well, there's not much left to do now, so you might as well get back to you family." I thought he looked disappointed for a second, but my mind was probably just playing tricks on me.

"Are you sure? I could help you, or I could stay over with Alice," I thought about this tempting offer, but decided against it. It wasn't fair on them.

"I've already caused enough trouble today. I'm sure Rosalie won't be very pleased if you don't go home." He considered it for a while before agreeing with me.

"You're right. It would annoy Rosalie and Esme would be worried. Well then, I'll see you tomorrow. I'll send Alice around with your car in the morning,"

"Oh yeah, thanks." I said, but he had already gone. I had forgotten that I would need my car to get to school. Or at least any human would need to car.

I hope that after tonight Edward would get along better. And possibly even become friends. Alice and I were well on the way to becoming very close.

I set my mind to the next task: cleaning up.


	4. Chapter 4

**It's a bit shorter than the other ones, but I hope it's ok. Please review and let me know**

* * *

It was 1 o'clock, so I had plenty of time to tidy everything up. I gathered all of the feathers into a bin bag along with all the other debris. Tomorrow I would have to do some DIY work. While I was at it, I might as well repaper the walls as the current paper was rather dull. I'd go to Port Angeles tomorrow after school to buy everything I would need, including new furniture.

Meanwhile, before I went to school, I would do the little homework I had received. I could also practice my dancing. Ever since I had been changed, I used my grace to my advantage, and started dancing. Something I could have only wished for before, due to my lack of coordination, and the fact that I could trip up over thin air.

I finished my homework and practiced my dancing well into the morning. I seemed to go into my own little world when I danced, everything around me just ceased to exist. I learned by watching videos online. I would have liked to go to lessons, but it wasn't worth the risk.

When I finally stopped, I went around the house and made a mental list of everything that I would need to buy in Port Angeles. My current bank account would be able to fund all of this, but I knew I would have to get some more money before long. I still had bills to pay.

Living on your own can be really boring. I found myself with nothing to do again. I went to find my CDs, which were still packed away somewhere.

Once I had found them, I put one on in my room and I went into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and what I saw shocked me.

My hair was all knotted and covered in feathers. I looked a mess! How could Edward not have told me? It took me thirty minutes to get them all out, even with my preternatural speed.

After I was semi-satisfied with my hair I went into my bedroom to pick out an outfit. I pulled all of my small collection of clothes onto the bed. There wasn't much choice.

Eventually I chose some skinny fit jeans with a v-neck red blouse. I took my time getting dressed, even going at human speed, just so that I wouldn't be wandering around the house with nothing to do again.

Luckily, as I finished buttoning my blouse up, there was a knock at the door. I sped down the stairs and opened it before a second had passed.

Alice stood there smiling, but she raised her eyebrow.

"Are you trying to get Mike Newton to follow you around like a sheep?" she asked

"What do you mean?" I didn't realise what I had done.

"Just look at yourself! You look simply gorgeous. Them jeans fit really nicely, and that blouse, just... wow."

"Oh," I said. Maybe it was a little too much for school. "I'm going to go get changed..."

I turned to go up to my room, but Alice grabbed my arm. She was strong...for a pixie.

"Don't you dare! You look great. I'm going to have to take you shopping with me some time." I gulped, that experience sounded like one I would rather avoid.

"Oh, yeah. We are going to be having _visitors_ in school for a few weeks." I didn't like the way she said _visitors_. It didn't sound good.

"Who?"

"An arsonist visited the Quileute school last night. They caused a lot of damage, so the students are being sent to various schools in the area. We are getting seven of them. More specifically, we are getting seven wolves."

"Well, isn't that going to be a little awkward?" I asked, remembering all that they had told me about the Quileute tribe.

"It will be, especially because I can't see them. But they wouldn't risk anything in such a public place. They would be too worried about people getting hurt." Satisfied with her answer, I picked my bag up and we walked outside. She had parked my car in the drive.

"Are you riding with me," I asked as I locked the door.

"If that's ok," she said. I nodded and she threw me the keys. We got into the car and I put the radio in to fill the silence. It didn't stay silent for long though. Alice was insisting on coming to Port Angeles with me. She was telling about all the 'amazing' shops, which sold great clothes, and 'we just had to go to them'.

It didn't take long to reach the school, and as Alice had said, there was a group of dark-skinned Quileutes standing by a van in the car park. As we entered the car park, they all turned to glare at us. It was ominous but comic at the same time. The way they all turned their heads at the same time made me want to laugh.

I composed myself and parked the car. When we stepped out, they made their way over to use. They all had similar appearances, with black cropped hair and brown eyes. They were well built and the eldest ones towered over me. The tallest one seemed to be the leader. He stopped a couple of metres in front of us, not seeming to want to get any closer.

"Listen, bloodsuckers. We don't want any trouble, so if you just stay out of our way..."

"Excuse me?," squeaked Alice. "_You_ can stay out of _our_ way. We have been here longer than you." She was fuming, and the fact that the Quileute was several feet taller than her didn't seem to faze her.

"Oh really. And how does that plan of yours work, when there is seven of us, and two..." A booming voice came from behind us, and interrupted the leader.

"Six of us. And two more who are just a phone call away. I would recommend that _you_ stay away from _us_, dogs!" It was Emmett who was threatening the wolves. They seemed to take the hint, as they turned and walked away. Though I was sure that this wasn't over. I turned to Alice, not looking at the rest of her family.

"I'm going to English now. See you," I turned and walked away quickly, but Alice's arm linked with mine.

"I have it too. Come on," I have to say, I was relieved for the company. Humans naturally shied away from me.

We entered the classroom and sat down at our desks. The teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"You know, they aren't mad at you," Alice said quietly. I didn't look at her, but fixed my gaze at the graffiti on my desk.

"Really? What about Rosalie?" I tried to keep my voice as emotionless as possible, so she wouldn't notice how upset I still was over the whole thing.

"She just wants the attention that you're getting. Once everyone gets used to having you around, she'll calm down."

"Are the others really not mad? Or are you just saying that so you don't hurt my feeling?" I found it hard to believe that they were all so forgiving after I had nearly revealed us.

"Sure. Edward probably made it clear how he felt about it all. Jaz knows how newborns react, so he is more concerned about what you'll do. I know you aren't really a newborn, but you're still young. Carlisle and Esme are both worried about you and Emmett found the whole thing rather amusing."

I sat in silence while I took it all in. They really weren't mad at me. Well, except Rosalie. A smile crept onto my face. T looked up at Alice and she was grinning back.

"So, about the shopping…" She was off again. I half-listened to what she was saying and the rest of the class slowly filed in. Finally the teacher arrived and Alice was told to be quiet.

Today, we were writing an essay for the whole lesson, so Alice never got to continue her speech about shopping.

Finally the bell rang and we all eagerly left the room. Unfortunately I had Algebra next, and I had it without any of the Cullen's. This was going to be a lonely lesson.

As I turned to leave Alive, she growled slightly and looked at me. At first I thought I had done something wrong.

"You have a wolf," was all she said before she walked off.

Wondering what Alice meant, I walked into the classroom. Immediately I understood what Alice had said. In front of me stood a huge tanned guy. He towered at least a foot over me, and had longer hair than the other wolves seemed to.

"Ah, you must be Bella," said the teacher, who was sat behind his desk. He seemed fairly young, in his late twenties. "You and Jacob can sit together on that table at the back."

He pointed at the table, which was right at the back of the classroom. No one else was sat on the back row. Maybe I could manage to throw a few insults at the dog without anyone noticing.

I walked quickly over to the table and sat down. My good mood was rapidly decreasing. I didn't want to smell of dog for the rest of the day. The lad, Jacob, walked over to the desk after me. He was glaring at me with disgust. I smiled sweetly back at him, hoping no one else had noticed his glare. I didn't feel like answering any questions about it.

The teacher placed a couple of textbooks on our desk, and set us all some exercises to do. I turned to the page I needed and started on the work straight away.

A couple of years ago algebra was like a foreign language to me, but now it seemed all too simple. I had done several questions, when I turned to see how my neighbour was getting along.

He hadn't done the first question, and was wearing a puzzled expression on his face, with his eyebrows scrunched together. I looked at his work, and pointed out what he had done wrong.

"I don't accept help from leeches," he sneered. I just shrugged and carried on with the rest of the questions.

A few minutes later, the teacher came over to out table. He looked at Jacob's book.

"Jacob, this is what you need to do," He told Jacob exactly what I had told him. I grinned at my work, unable to contain my glee. The teacher moved on to help some other students.

"So who is your next meal bloodsucker? You like the teacher?" he whispered at me.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you stink, I'd probably pick you," I replied, not looking up from my work.

"Just you watch it! I have the pack behind me," he threatened. I decided that I was going to take out my bad mood on him, seeing as though he had caused it. I would also have some fun in the process.

"Do you mean literally? Because I thought I sensed some sort of homosexuality…"

"I. Am. Not. Gay." He growled, emphasising each word. Teenage guys were so sensitive. I just laughed at him.

"De Nile isn't just a river in Egypt," I replied.

"How old _are_ you? That phrase is years old." I remained silent. The phrase was used a lot when I was in school in Phoenix. Things must have changed since then.

I concentrated on my work and finished it within five minutes. I sat back on my chair, and enjoyed watching Jacob struggle with the work.

After a few minutes he sighed and turned his body towards me.

"How do you do this question?" he asked, not looking me in the eye. I was tempted to tease his about having to ask me, but I decided that asking me in the first place was a low enough blow to his pride.

I explained how to do the question to him and helped him do a couple more questions. Apparently being a werewolf didn't give you the extra brain cells that being a vampire seemed to.

Eventually the bell went, so I packed my stuff away, and quickly left the room.

* * *

**Got the wolves in now**

**Let me know what you think**

**Thanks for the reviews so far, I'm really grateful**


	5. Chapter 5

**I might not be able to update as often as I'd like in the next month because I have exams. I'll try my best though**

* * *

As soon as I left the room, Alice was there. She looked at me and let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't like having the wolves around. My visions are so limited. Argh! It is so annoying!" she muttered. I ignored her references to her visions, though the mentioning of them was affecting me less.

"I have a free lesson next. I might take a walk around the grounds," I said, mainly talking to myself.

"Well I have to go to my Spanish lesson now, so I'll see you at dinner." We hugged and then she skipped off. I walked outside and sat on the edges of the football pitches. There was a slight breeze, but at least it wasn't raining.

There wasn't anyone else around, so it was nice and peaceful. I could hear the lessons going on nearby, but I blocked it out as much as I could.

My peace didn't last for long. I could hear someone approaching from behind me. I didn't turn around to see who it was. They sat down beside me, so I finally turned to look at them.

My eyes were met with a mop of messy bronze hair and dark caramel coloured eyes. It was Edward. I hadn't really paid attention to his appearance before now so I took in all I could about him. His face was perfect, even for a vampire. He had an angular jaw and his whole face seemed rather youthful. He was wearing a tight fitting t-shirt, which showed off his muscular figure. He wasn't as big as Emmett, but it suited him. He had a purple shadow beneath his eyes, and combined with the darkness of his eyes, it suggested that he was thirsty. I pointed this out to him.

"I'm not the only one," he replied, observing my face. I hadn't noticed until he pointed it out, but now my throat was burning.

"Do you want to come hunting after school with m…us?" he offered. The idea of drinking animal blood over human was not appealing. He noticed my slight grimace.

"Don't worry about it. You get used to the taste." He chuckled lightly.

"Well I would do, but Alice is taking me shopping after school as we both have a free last lesson." He looked at me sympathetically.

"We can do it when you get back, if you'd like." Edward suggested. It sounded like a good idea. Less time wandering around the house with nothing to do.

"Sure. Looking forward to it!" Edward laughed at my lack of enthusiasm. "Oh yeah. I didn't mention it last night, but I only feed off of bad people. Not innocent people." I wanted to make that point very clear. He smiled at me kindly.

"I thought that would be the case. You seem like that kind of person." My confusion must have shown on my face as he proceeded to explain himself.

"It's just the way you worry about others all the time. You're very conscientious." If I could have blushed, I would have.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" I knew that it was rude to ask another human that, but this situation was a bit different.

"I'm seventeen…plus ninety years or so," he replied. I was too amazed at what he had said to reply. He was _that_ old. "Can I ask you a question?"

His velvet-like voice brought me out of my silence. I nodded.

"How old were you when you were turned?" he asked.

"I was sixteen," I replied.

"So young…" he whispered. It did seem young, but at least I would forever have this body. I wouldn't get wrinkly and old.

"It's not that much younger than you."

"I suppose. But does it not bother you?"

"This whole life bothers me. However I'd much rather focus on the few aspects of it that are slightly positive. Such as the fact that I'll always be young. I find it easier to focus on that, than all the monstrous parts." I wasn't usually this talkative with people I barely knew, but something about Edward made me feel that I could tell him anything.

"I could show you that there is more to this life than being a monster. You see, drinking animal blood helps us to be more human. It allows us to form true bonds of love, and to cooperate as a true family," he explained. I took everything, eager to learn more about this life that I was cursed with.

"So, don't other vampires live like you?"

"No. Most are nomads, or live in pairs. We aren't overly sociable creatures normally. Also, vampires who drink form humans can't stay in a certain place for an extended period of time without people noticing. We manage as we travel far out to hunt so no one notices a depletion in the number of animals."

"How many vampires actually feed off of animals?" I asked. I wasn't sure how many vampires actually existed.

"The only ones that I know of are us, and the Denali coven in Alaska. It isn't a popular lifestyle choice." I nodded while thinking everything through.

"How many vampires are there in the world?"

"Quite a few actually. No one knows the true number, but probably more than you would think. Do you know about the Volturi?" The name was unfamiliar to me, but the way he said it made me think that they were important.

"No I haven't." I replied.

"They watch over our kind, in a way. They prevent our existence from being revealed to humans. It's important to have them really, as there have been several occasions where their presence has been required. They live in Italy, in a city called Volterra. The leaders are Aro, Caius and Marcus." He explained. Vampires were further spread than I had believed.

"Tell me more about us, vampires I mean. I want to know everything."

"Well, as I'm sure you know, we have preternatural strength and speed. We are incredibly beautiful to human eyes. Our scent draws humans to us, even though humans feel a natural aversion to us. Our skin sparkles in the sun, and feels like marble to humans. We are immortal, and do not change physically, except for the changes that occur due to our thirst. We are easily distracted, and we can't sleep. We don't have to breathe. Those are just a few of the things that I can think of at the moment." I nodded along as he was talking. Most of them I had known, but I didn't know that I didn't have to breathe. Cool.

"Wow," I mumbled, it was a pretty big list. It made me feel special in a way. But also sad, with all the reminders that I had lost my humanity.

"It's going to rain soon, and its a few minutes before dinner, let's head to the canteen." I walked by his side into the building. It was a lot louder in here, as I could hear all of the lessons going on. It was a bit annoying, but bearable.

We walked to the canteen in silence and bought some food which we wouldn't be eating. I had found out that we couldn't eat human food the unfortunate way, not an experience I would like to repeat.

Edward led me to a table and we sat opposite each other.

"What are you doing this weekend?" he asked, but before I could reply Emmett came bounding over and sat down with us.

"Eddie! You're coming camping two weeks form now aren't you?"He asked. I laughed as Edward glared at him.

"Don't call me Eddie. And yes I am coming."

"Hi Bella," Alice said, sitting next to me.

"Hey," I replied, and smiled. I looked over to the entrance to the canteen, just as Rosalie and Jasper walked in. They walked over to us and took their seats. Jasper smiled politely at me, but Rosalie gave me a death-glare. I looked away from her, and concentrated on Emmett and Edwards's conversation.

"So, we're thinking of going to the Olympic Peninsula. I hear there are too many grizzlies there at the moment." He grinned at Edward, who just rolled his eyes.

"Would you like to come with us Bella? We are going for the weekend." Asked Alice.

"That sounds good, thanks." I replied, not wanting to spend an entire weekend on my own. It would also be good to get used to their diet, the morals behind it were appealing to me, even if the taste probably wouldn't.

"Well I'm not going then." Said Rosalie, as she stood up and walked out of the canteen. Emmett was quickly on her tail.

"Don't be like that, babe." He called to her, before soon disappearing from view.

"Just ignore her. She is still coming. It will be so fun. We have a cabin up there. There is a spare room which you can have." Alice said, almost bouncing in her chair. I felt calm all of a sudden, and I realised Jasper was trying to calm down the hyperactive pixie.

"Stop it, Jasper. I want to be excited." She pouted, and he just chuckled softly. We spent the rest of dinner discussing the plans for the upcoming trip, we they talked and I just listened. I felt comfortable just sitting with them there. Maybe even as far as to feel accepted. I enjoyed the feeling. Jasper glanced at me and smiled slightly, probably feeling my happiness.

When people starting leaving the canteen I realised that dinner was over, and that I should be heading to my geography lesson. I got up and said my goodbyes, as none of them had geography with me.

Geography was fairly uneventful; the teacher sat me at the opposite side of the room to Rosalie, so luck was on my side. I had never enjoyed geography as a human, so now it was even worse. The minutes seemed to be like hours as I jotted down the teacher's lecture perfectly word for word.

In a way I couldn't wait for the lesson to end, but also I felt that I wanted to stay here, as Alice's shopping trip was looming. I nearly whimpered when the bell went. I packed my bag as slowly as I could.

"Hey, Bella. So how you liking Forks?" Mike's voice came from in front of me. I hadn't realised that he was sat in front of me. I was becoming really unobservant.

"It's ok. A bit too wet for my liking," I replied. To be honest, the rain could be a bit annoying.

"Ah, the rain is something that you've just got to live with. So, what are you doing this weekend?" he asked. I thought back to dinner, where Edward had asked me exactly the same thing. I thought over whose company I would rather be in.

"I'm going out with some people, Mike." I hoped this would spurn his advance, but of course, him being a hormonal teenage boy, it didn't.

"Well maybe we could meet up sometime in the future then." He waved and walked off. I growled quietly in frustration. A few seconds after he disappeared Alice appeared by my side.

"Come on, all the shops will be closed if you keep this pace up. Let's go," she took my hand and led us out to the car park. Jacob was leaning against an old red truck, and he glared at Alice as we passed, but his glare softened slightly when he looked at me. It gave me hope that the relations between the wolves and us didn't have to be completely hostile.

We reached my Audi, and got inside. Alice insisted on us going to her house first, so we could take her Porsche there as it was faster. I agreed reluctantly and drove to her house.

"What do you think of Edward?" she asked out of the blue. I thought about it for a bit before answering.

"He's nice, and he treats me with respect. I like him," I replied. She nodded, seeming satisfied with my answer. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wondering." Her answer was too vague. It made me think that there was something else to her question.

We soon arrived at her house, and I parked in front of it. She led me into the garage, where a canary yellow Porsche was sitting. I gaped at it and shook my head. Ostentatious much? She smiled and climbed in the driver's seat. I got into the car, and let Alice drive me to my personal hell.

* * *

**Next chapter should have quite a bit of Alice in, and some Edward too. Hope you liked it. Review and let me know what you think**


	6. Chapter 6

**More of Alice in this chapter, so hope you like it.**

* * *

We pulled up in the car park in front of the mall. This is where Alice's reign of terror began. I refused to get out of the car, and stubbornly stayed in my seat, even when Alice had got out and walked around to my door.

"This can be easy, or this can be hard Bella." She said, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and followed her into my personal hell.

The first shop she dragged me into wasn't too bad. Alice wouldn't let me anywhere near the jeans.

"You have far too many already Bella. I am going to get you some skirts and dresses to show off your legs a little." Just to prove her point she took me over to a rack where some knee length navy-blue dresses were hanging. Unfortunately it was the kind of dress I would never be able to pull off. As if sensing what I was thinking, Alice found my size and dragged me towards the changing rooms. Before I could even protest she shut me up.

"Don't argue Bella. Trust me, you'll look great. Now go and try it on!" she pushed me into the cubicle in the changing room with the dress and closed the curtain.

I decided that trying to resist would be futile, so I got undressed and put the dress on. Without looking in the mirror, I walked out. Alice met me with a big smile on her face

"I am becoming your personal shopper. You will look great when I'm done with you. Just look at you!" she told me. I looked at the mirror at the end of the room and I was shocked with what I saw. I girl was looking back at me, her wavy brown hair falling over her shoulder. The girl's perfect white skin looked like creamy milk next to the blue of the dress. The actual dress looked as if it was made to fit her. It clinged to her body in all the right places and accentuated her curves. I couldn't believe that the girl I was looking at was me.

"Come on, we're getting that. Get changed and I'll go pay for it." Said Alice.

"Oh no, you are not spending money on me." I argued as I didn't deserve it. They were being too nice to me as it was.

"Don't argue. We have too much money seeing as though I have a talent for guessing trends in the stock market. Carlisle has been a doctor for several decades and I can see that you'll lose this argument," She folded her arms across her chest. I growled at her and went to get changed. I handed her the dress and put the rest of my clothes on.

Alice was waiting for me by the entrance of the changing room with a large bag which looked too big for just my dress.

"I got a few extra things which you'll look great in. You don't need to try them on. I know they'll fit. Next shop!"

If I was a human I would have been exhausted with the amount of shops that Alice had dragged me to, all the time lecturing me on this month's fashion, and what next month's would be, what colours would go with my complexion and hair colours, and what to avoid.

After the third shop I gave up telling her not to spend so much money on me as it wasn't getting me anywhere. We had to go back to the car once already to drop off all the bags we had accumulated. I wondered how she was planning on fitting everything into the tiny boot of her Porsche, but being Alice, she'd find a way. We visited a few more shops before reaching the final store. I shook my head at her.

"You're kidding. No way. Not a chance." Alice stood in the entranceway to Victoria's Secret pleading with me.

"Please Bella. Come on the lingerie in here is really nice. Just let me show you," Deciding that pleading nicely wasn't going to work she changed her tactics. "I'll drag you in! Or I'll just buy it for you. I'm guessing that you are a 34C, so I could just buy everything in the store for you. You know I would," Oh, I did know that she would. I was slightly disturbed that she could tell my bra size just from looking. I gave up, and just followed her around the store.

Inside, there were some scary looking outfits which I avoided. Alice smiled at me, and said "eventually". She picked up quite a few pieces of lingerie, some of which I would never wear.

"Oh you will," Alice replied in response to me telling her. She chuckled evilly, but wouldn't tell me what she meant. She only said that I'd find out soon enough. Alice even bought me some nightwear, even though I would never need it. Eventually, when she had decided that she had bought enough we went back to the car.

"Well that was fun! We have to do that again soon," Was she kidding?

"Alice, you have bought me enough clothes to last me for the whole year here! I don't need to go shopping again for a very long time." She rolled her eyes at me.

"These clothes will only last you for a month at the most. Didn't you listen to what I was telling you about fashion?" I never understood fashion and I never really wanted to.

Alice worked some kind of miracle by fitting all the clothes into the car. I don't know how she managed it, but she must have experience.

As we drove back, we listened to some of Alice's music, and we sung along to it together. It didn't take long to get back to Forks, even with all the extra weight.

We turned onto the Cullen's driveway and I could hear a piano playing. It was nice and relaxing. Alice pulled up in front of the house and we got out of the car.

"You go ahead. I'll be with you in a minute." I nearly asked her what she was doing, but decided that I wouldn't get an answer. She was extremely cryptic and mysterious when she wanted to be. I walked to the door and was about to knock when Emmett opened the door.

"Bella! Come in," His voice was loud and booming, but at the same time friendly and welcoming. I smiled at him.

"Hey Emmett," He stepped to the side and I walked in.

"So, you survived Alice then?" Emmett asked, clearly amused.

"Only just," I replied, still listening to the piano playing in the background.

"Anyways, I'm going to carry on beating Jasper on the Wii. See you later." He ran off, leaving me to find the source of the music. It was like the first day I came over. I repressed a shudder at the thought of yesterday. Edward was sat behind the piano, which was in a room just off of the main room. I recognised what he was playing, and I nearly sobbed with all the memories which suddenly flooded my mind.

"Clair de Lune?" I asked quietly, not trusting myself to speak any louder. He didn't seem shocked that I was there, then again he would have heard Emmett and I talking.

"I didn't think that you would listen to Debussy." He commented, not looking away from the piano.

"What do you mean by that?" I was thinking of the many implications which that statement could have. I was suddenly worried about what he thought of me. He looked up from the piano, still playing.

"It wasn't meant to be an insult. It's just that you were listening to Avenged Sevenfold in your car, and your clothes seem to suggest that you prefer rock music." He explained.

"There are many things you don't know about me," I winked at him, and walked over to Alice, who had just walked in. She had a bag in her hand, and dragged me upstairs. I was in shock that I had been so forward, it wasn't like me. I used to struggle to talk to boys, now I was winking at them! Another thing that was bugging me was my ability to change moods too quickly. I had been told that it was a part of being newborn, but it was still weird.

Alice took me up to her room again. I sat on her bed, while she poured the contents of her bag onto the bag.

"I know Edward asked you to go hunting later, so you can put these on so you don't ruin your current clothes. Oh, I'm coming with you too. Jaz would, but he has some business to attend to. Carlisle and Esme have to work till late and Emmett is staying with Rose." On the bed was some cropped white trousers and a blue chequered shirt. Also, Alice had picked out some underwear to go along with it all. It was very lacey, and not the kind of thing I usually wore.

"Alice, why do I have to change my underwear to go hunting?" I asked.

"Because you just do, trust me. Now get changed and meet me downstairs." She ran out of the room, leaving me to get changed. I sighed and started stripping off. The new underwear was very sexy, which is why I felt uncomfortable in it. Nonetheless I put it on, but quickly covered it with the rest of my clothes. Then I ran downstairs and met Alice and Edward.

"Come on, let's get going. We want to go pretty far away to hunt." Alice explained. She led us out through the back door. Then we ran. We jumped over the river and just sped for about five minutes. Suddenly Alice stopped, and I ran ahead of her before I could stop. I ran back to see Edward glaring at her.

"I'm going to find the cougar I can see myself hunting. I'll leave you two for a bit. See you," With that she ran off, leaving Edward to guide me through this strange diet.

"There are some elk nearby, we can start with those. They're easy to hunt. Just cast your senses out and see if you can find them" he told me. I closed my eyes and smelt everything around me. I could smell the damp moss, and the trees around me. I could smell the sweet pollen form the wildflowers and something else, muskier. I presumed that this was the elk. I listened carefully, and I could pick out a strong heartbeat. I let my instincts take over me, and stalked towards this steady beat, which were counting down the elk's seconds of life.

I got closer, and luckily the direction of the wind was in my favour, so the elk wouldn't smell me coming. I got within viewing distance of the elk and went through the best way to take it down. The heat and smell was strongest in its thick neck. I leaped towards it and sunk my teeth into its neck. It kicked and struggled, but it was no good.

The taste was horrible compared to the human blood which I was accustomed to, but it would do. The slight burning in my throat subsided slightly. Eventually the elk's heart gave out and I dropped the carcass. Edward stood behind me clapping.

"Well done, that was good for your first kill." I smiled, and checked my appearance. I brushed some of the dirt off of me, and smoothed my hair over. "Want to try again?" I nodded and cast my senses out again. This time I picked up on several heartbeats, with the same smell. There must be a herd of elk. I set off after them. I was aware I was being followed, but resisted defending by assuring myself that it was just Edward.

He reached the herd quicker than me, and was hiding in the grass near to them. We both attacked at the same time, him going for the large buck, and me going for a smaller doe. He had drained two elk, before I had even finished one. I had become even more dishevelled this time, as the doe had put up more of a fight.

"You're doing great. How is the taste?" He asked.

"Disgusting," I replied, comparing it to humans. Though it did make me feel better inside, knowing I wasn't ending human lives.

"I know. You get used to it though." Suddenly a more appealing smell caught my attention. It wasn't too near, but it smelt so much better than the elk. I instantly went after the smell and ran towards it. Shortly, I reached the source of the smell. A mountain lion. The lion was walking along on the forest floor, so I climbed into some trees in order to ambush it from above.

When I was near enough, I pounced and landed on its back. I rolled it over and sank my teeth into its neck. All the time I was drinking, the cat tried to rip me to shreds with its claws. It tasted so much better than the elk, more human. I didn't mind it too much.

When I was finished I dropped the lion and stood up to see Edward watching me. His eyes quickly darted down and widened, then he quickly turned around. I looked down to see that the lion had shredded most of the top, leaving my lingerie, courtesy of Alice, open for everyone to see.

"Would you like to borrow my shirt?" he offered, not turning around like a proper gentleman.

"If you don't mind, please." He took his shirt off, and handed it to me. I took his shirt and buttoned it up. It was far too big for me, but it would do. His smell invaded my nostrils. He smelt so good. "So that is why Alice made me wear these."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"She picked out these clothes for me specifically. She probably knew that was going to happen." I actually thought that she had picked out the underwear for this occasion; I was going to have major words with the pixie.

"So that is what she was hiding from me." He muttered. She had been planning all of this. I growled under my breath. Suddenly Alice appeared between us both.

"Hi. Do I want to know?" She asked, looking at me. I glared at her.

"I think you already do know, Alice." She looked back at me innocently.

"I don't know what you're talking about Bella. Let's get back to the house, it's already 9 o'clock." We all ran back in silence, and it took us around ten minutes to get back. We walked into the house, and Edward went straight upstairs. I presumed he was getting another shirt for himself.

Esme and Carlisle walked into the room, both smiling at me.

"Hi Bella, how was the hunting trip?" asked Esme, pulling me into a hug.

"It was great thanks. I think I'm going to stick to this diet. It makes me feel better about myself."

"That's great to hear. If we are ever going hunting in the future you are welcome to join us. Edward or Alice will let you know." Carlisle said, seeming very happy about this news.

"Thanks." Alice then led me into the main room, where Emmett and Jasper were watching a baseball match. It wasn't my thing, but I sat down next to Alice. Edward came down after a few minutes, wearing a new shirt. He sat next to Jasper, and they started talking about the positions of various teams in the leagues.

I could see the piano in the other room, and I longed to play it. It had been so long since my fingers had touched the keys. The lessons which my mum had paid for were vague in my memory but still there.

"Do you want to play?" Edward asked, breaking me from my memories. I nodded towards him, and he stood up to come with me.

"Wait! Edward you won't let me anywhere near that room and you're letting Bella play your piano? No fair, man!" Complained Emmett.

"After what you and Rosalie did on top of my piano, there is no way you are ever going near it again." He retaliated, and I shuddered. Horrible images flashed through my mind. Edward led me into the room and closed the door behind me.

I sat down on my stool and I swiftly began to feel self-conscious. I tried to get rid of the feeling, and started to play. It played the first song which came to my mind. I used to love it. I sang along to the lyrics at the same time.

_I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears  
And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave  
Your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone_

The memories of my mother would never leave me alone. They haunted my mind, and hurt me with what I could never have again.

These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have all of me

I always used to look after my mother; I was more of a parent than a daughter. There was still a part of me which belonged to my mother, and always would.

_  
You used to captivate me by your resonating light  
Now, I'm bound by the life you left behind  
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams  
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me_

She had such an interesting life, always trying different things. I loved the way she would change her mind so quickly. It made her unique.

These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have all of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone  
But though you're still with me, I've been alone all along

The knowledge that she was still alive and I couldn't see her was almost too much to bear.

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have all of me, me, me

I finished the song and took a deep breath. I hadn't played that song in years, as it hurt too much to do so. I hadn't even thought about playing it, it had just played itself. Maybe I was beginning to let go. I hoped I was. I needed to move on. It is what my mother would have wanted.

* * *

**The lyrics are _My Immortal_ by _Evanescence_. Please review, and let me know what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A short one, but I'm really tired, and wanted to get this one out. I have exams next week, so I don't know how long it will take me to update again, but I will try my best to not makeit too long. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're all super.**

* * *

To lift the mood, I tried to play Clair de Lune. The first few chords I played were correct, but I found that I had forgotten some of the song. I tried a few times to get the right chords but my human memories failed me.

"Here, let me help," Edward said and placed his hand on top of mine. As soon as our skin touched I felt a jolt of electricity surge through my body. It shocked me and I pulled my hand away from his. His stood straight up and held his hand, as if he had felt it too.

"I…I think that Esme wanted to talk to you. With Alice. I'm going to go." He ran off so suddenly, I barely acknowledged him telling me he was going. I wondered if he had felt the same as me, which would explain why he was so jumpy.

As soon as our hands parted, I felt a need to touch him again, like a magnetic pull. I didn't understand it. I wasn't used to being so close to guys, as I was really shy when I was a human. Was that what I was feeling? Was I attracted to Edward? I knew he was good looking, but I didn't have feelings for him. Did I?

I pondered it over, and finally decided that the answer didn't matter, as there was no way he would ever be able to reciprocate the feelings with someone like me. I put it to the back of my mind and walked out to find Alice. She was sitting in the living room, and jumped up to greet me when I walked into the room.

"Bella, Esme and I want to talk to you about redecorating your house." I gulped, and nodded. This made me nervous. Hopefully Esme could exercise some sort of restraint on Alice.

Alice led me to the kitchen where Esme was reading some interior design magazines. My hopes of restraint seemed to be in vain.

"Ah, Bella dear. Alice and I wanted to have a word with you and redecorating your house. We understand that you wish to redecorate, and we would like to do it for you, if you would allow us to."

"How did you know I wanted to redecorate?" I asked, as I hadn't mentioned it to either of them, or any other member of the family.

"I had a vision of you repainting the house. I have to say, you have bad taste Bella. Pale yellow? What are you, 60?" She criticised. I just glared at her.

"I really enjoy doing interior designing Bella, so please would you give me the pleasure of decorating your home? It would mean so much to me," I didn't think I could deny Esme anything at that moment in time. Alice must have seen me accepting as she jumped up and hugged me.

"Thank you so much Bella, you won't regret it, I swear."

"As long as there isn't anything too extravagant. That's the only thing I insist upon. Oh, and you will have to let me how much money you'll need," I knew there wasn't much point in saying it, but I had to try.

"No, don't even think about Bella. We have more than enough." Esme insisted. I was going to argue when Alice cut me off.

"Don't even go there Bella. Or I will get Emmett to wrestle with you until you give in. Trust me, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience."

"Can I do it anyway?" Said Emmett from the other room. I laughed nervously.

"I think it would be best if you stayed here for this week at least, so we can use all the space in your house. We have a spare room which Alice can show you to." Offered Esme.

"Thank you. You are too kind." I said quietly, and Alice led me up to the spare room. It was at the end of the corridor. Inside it was fairly plain, with white walls, and a large white double bed. I knew I would never use it for sleeping, but sometimes it was nice just to lose myself in a book on a comfy bed, or to just relax and empty my mind whilst lying down.

"Jaz, Emmett, please can you bring Bella's clothes up for me." Said Alice, and I knew they had heard her, due to the grumbling below us. "You won't need any clothes from your house Bella. You have everything you need here. We have everything sanitary that you could want, such as shampoo and soap. If you want I will bring your own things over sometime but you aren't not going anywhere near your wardrobe anytime soon. I am going to show you what it means to be stylish. "

During Alice's lecture, Jasper and Emmett had made several journeys up and down the stairs to deposit all the bags.

"Thanks darling," said Alice and she kissed Jasper on the cheek, with Jasper having to bend down, and Alice on her tiptoes. "Thanks Emmett." They both left the room to carry on playing on their games.

"Alice where is all the clothes going? There isn't a wardrobe." The bags took up a lot of space and were rather annoying.

"Oh there is," she replied with a mischievous grin. She walked over to the back of the room and opened a door which I hadn't noticed, as it blended in so well with the walls. Inside was a walk in wardrobe the size of the bedroom itself. I shook my head at her.

"I should've known," I muttered to myself, and began to take the clothes into the wardrobe to be put away.

When we had finally put all the clothes away, Alice excused herself to go and make the plans for my house with Esme. I was about to relax on the bed when I heard Emmett call my name. I ran downstairs to see what he wanted.

Edward was already there arguing with Emmett.

"What are you trying to prove? Just because you can't beat me." Said Edward.

"That's because you cheat and work out all my strategies and moves. I want to see how you would do if you couldn't cheat." Retaliated Emmett. I felt completely lost.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. Emmett turned to me with a big smile on his face.

"I want you to challenge Edward at chess. None of us can play against him except Alice. And that is boring to watch. They play most of it in their heads. So please, let us know how talented he _actually_ is." I smirked at Edward. Even though the recent electricity event was still present in my mind, I put it all aside. I decided that I proceed to be friends with Edward and ignore any feeling I may or may not have.

"Ok. What do you say Edward? You up for it." I challenged him. I played a lot of chess when I was younger; it was something I used to really enjoy.

"I will be forever pestered by Emmett if I say no, so let's go." He got out the chess set from a cupboard and set it up. It was a glass set and very beautiful. It shimmered where the lgiht caught it, and gave off aspectrum of light, which my enhanced eyes could see.

I was white so I began. After a few moves the game slowly ground to a virtual standstill. With each of us only making moves every 10 or 20 minutes. As both of us had advanced minds, it was a very challenging game. And neither of us was going to make any stupid moves.

When neither of us had made a move for half an hour, Emmett wandered off and told us to tell him when one of us had won. Carlisle came down after an hour to watch us.

It was obvious Edward was getting frustrated at not being able to read my thoughts. Every now and then he would clench his fist. His brow was constantly furrowed. I had a strange urge to straighten it out, but I put it out of my mind, and resisted touching him.

Eventually I got his king into check, and finally checkmate. He flicked his king over gently, so as not to break the glass. Emmett's victory cheers could be heard from all over the house. Edward grimaced and stood up.

I helped him put away the chess set as Emmett taunted him, before Edward finally got fed up of it. Sighing deeply he turned to me.

"Do you want to come to my room? I'm sure we can find something more interesting to do than listen to this fool." He offered. I nodded, and then Emmett's jokes took a whole new turn.

"I'd be careful Bella. He hasn't had any in several decades. You never know what he might do!" I felt so embarrassed at that moment in time. I didn't turn around, but just followed Edward. He led me to his room, which coincidentally was directly opposite mine. He opened the door, and I walked inside after him.

I instantly fell in love with his room. He had a large bookcase on one wall, filled with classics and some more modern day literature. I picked out some of the titles of my favourite books. On the other wall was his music collection. It was vast to say the least. I really wanted to look through it all, and see what his music taste said about him.

"Feel free to put some music on." He must have caught me staring. I gladly took him up on his offer. As I glanced over the titles of the CDs I tried to draw some conclusions about him. There was a lot of material from the 50's. There was virtually no music from the 70's but some from the later decades. It varied from classic, to alternative rock and to punk rock. His taste in music was so varied.

I picked out a CD from The Clash and put it in. After that I went over to his bookcase and looked over all the classics which he owned. I picked out Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, one of my favourite books. I had read it many times but I never bored of it. Edward gestured for me to sit on his settee. I settled down and began to read.

Shortly after I had sat down, Edward joined me with a large book on psychology. I definitely thought that my book looked more appealing.

Every now and then, when I looked up from my book, I observed Edward. Like the way some of his hair sometimes fell in front of his eyes, and how he would run his hand through his hair. This only succeeded in making it look even messier, but it suited him. I doubted his hair could ever be tamed.

Every now and then our eyes would meet, and I would quickly carry on reading my book. I felt embarrassed to be caught looking at him, as if I was doing something wrong.

We spent the night in silence, with Edward getting up every now and then to change the CD. It was comfortable though, with each of us just enjoying the other's company.

I finished my book sometime around morning and stood up to put it back in its place.

"Thanks for letting me stay here tonight. I didn't mean to impose for so long, I just get lost when I read a book." I hadn't realised that I had been there for so long, until the sun had started to rise.

"You weren't imposing, don't worry. I enjoyed your company. Feel free to borrow any of the books any time you wish." I thanked him, left his room, and went into my own. On my bed, Alice had laid some clothes out with a note telling me to wear them, or else. I looked at what she had picked out for me and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Let me know what you think**

**XxX**


	8. Chapter 8

**I should be revising right now, but instead I'm posting this, cos I'm so nice like that. Hope you like it. It's a bit of a slow chapter, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace of the story soon. Please review and let me know what you think. Reviews make me happy :)**

* * *

The top half of the outfit wasn't too bad. I didn't mind the jumper. It wasn't low cut and it was a nice red colour. If I didn't think about the black miniskirt and leather boots, I would be fine.

Who was I kidding?

"Alice, I am not walking out of this house in this skirt. You can forget it," Alice had been trying to plead with me for ten minutes and had used various threats, but to no avail. She finally pulled out her biggest weapon.

"How would you feel, Bella, if I got one of the guys to carry you down the stairs in that skirt, allowing the entire world to see the lingerie which I selected for you?" I was so frustrated; I knew that Emmett would be the first in line to humiliate me.

"You make me look like a hooker! And since when do normal girls wear skirts when it is freezing cold and pouring down most of the time?"

"Relax Bella. You do not look like a hooker. You look like someone who actually knows something about fashion. And it is nearly spring, so it should stop raining soon. You look great, so don't worry." Alice tried to soothe me, but failed. I kept pulling the skirt down to try and make it longer, but it was never long enough.

It was nearly 8 o'clock, so we would have to set off soon.

"How am I getting to school? My car is at my house." I asked Alice, as we walked out of my room.

"Some of us can go in Rosalie's BMW, and some in Edward's Volvo. I can bring your car over when we finish with your house tonight." I thanked her, and we walked into the living room, where everyone else was waiting.

"Rosalie, Jasper and I are going in the BMW. Whoa re you going with, Alice?" Asked Emmett, they had obviously organised the cars whilst we were arguing.

"If you don't mind Bella, I'm going to go with my Jasper. Do you mind riding with Edward?" I really didn't.

"No, that's fine. I'll see you in a little bit." Edward's car was parked around the front of the house, so we walked out of the front door.

Once inside, Edward pulled away from the house. He had a nice car; the engine was all but silent.

"Do I have any lessons with you today?" I asked him, to break the silence between us.

"We have chemistry. Do you have P.E. last lesson?" I thought back to my timetable.

"Yeah I do. I don't have a P.E. kit though, so it will be another lesson which I will be sitting out of. Wait! If you are in my P.E. then why weren't you in the lesson on Monday?" I hadn't noticed them there; it was only in biology that I had noticed Edward.

"We skipped the lesson to have a meeting on what to do about you. Alice had a vision of you coming here and we didn't know what to expect." He replied. "And Alice had sorted out your P.E. kit. She has it with her; she must have forgotten to give it to you." Alice's vision must have been why Edward wasn't shocked to see me in biology. "By the way, it is going to be sunny this Friday, so we aren't going into school. Our cover is a hiking trip with Carlisle. You'll need an excuse as to why you won't be in school."

"I could have to visit a sick relative in Phoenix. It's a valid excuse." He nodded in agreement as we pulled into the school car park. It really didn't take long to get to places with the Cullens. I was surprised that none of them had been pulled over for speeding yet.

The rest of their family was just parking as we got out. I had algebra first, so it would be interesting to see if Jacob was any nicer to me today. I wanted to get to know him better. He seemed like a nice person, deep deep down. He just had to keep up the image of the pack, that they were united against the vampires. I thought it was all a bit stupid, but I didn't really know much about the traditions of the Quileute tribe.

"I'm going to go to my algebra class. I'll see you in chemistry." I said to Edward.

"Don't you have a wolf in the class with you?" he asked.

"Jacob. He sits next to me." Edward narrowed his eyes when I called Jacob by his first name. They were humans, and they had names, so I was going to use them.

"Well be careful then. See you later," he waved and walked over to his family. I headed to algebra, looking forward to improving my relationship with Jacob. I was sorely disappointed.

He was scowling at me as I walked into the classroom. I took my seat beside him in silence, and prepared what I was going to say in my head.

"What is your problem with me? I don't mean me as a vampire, I mean me as a person." I asked him quietly, making sure my voice was low enough so that no one else around me would hear me. He took some deep breaths and wrinkled his nose. Apparently we didn't smell nice to them either.

"The fact that you're a bloodsucker is enough for me to dislike you." He growled back. This was the thing I didn't like. And the thing I intended to amend. The wolves didn't see us as people with feelings and thoughts. They saw us as vampires, which we were, but it's like being prejudiced against someone because they're a human. It seemed really silly.

"That is true for all of us. But what do you have against me personally? Have I, myself, ever done anything to insult you in any way, which doesn't have anything to do with me being a vampire?"

"I naturally hate you, and with good reason. You go against nature itself. You are a freak and shouldn't exist. It probably would be better for everyone if you didn't. You are risking the lives of everyone here by being in the school. Do you know how selfish you are?" He was sneering at me. His words drove a knife deep into my chest. Even though I knew it was only something which he had been told enough times to believe, I still believed most of it. I knew I wouldn't hurt anyone, as I had enough control to stop myself. Everything else was true. He had summed up everything that I thought about myself, and it hurt to hear it coming from someone else.

I remained silent from then on until the teacher came. Jacob looked incredibly smug that he had shut me up. I didn't really pay attention to the lecture from the teacher that lesson, I just thought about what Jacob had said.

When the lesson ended, I couldn't get out of the room quick enough, and I walked with my head down to history. I hoped I wasn't sat next to another wolf this time. My hopes to actually be around them without the hostility would never come true, because what they thought was correct.

The classroom was empty when I reached it, so I sat down on one of the desks at the front of the room and waited for the teacher to arrive. More pupils began to enter the room, and I watched those who were walking in. I recognised some of them, but I knew none of them by name.

I could tell from the whispers, which they thought I couldn't hear, that I was still a novelty. The guys were still discussing my beauty, and the girls were insulting my clothes and hair in jealousy. I wasn't being big-headed; I was just used to women being jealous of my looks. If they knew the full story, I'm sure that they would be happy the way they were.

As I was watching everybody pile into the classroom, Jasper walked into the room. Everyone around him gave him space, and he seemed to have a slightly pained expression on his face. The bloodlust must be more difficult for him. He smiled when he saw me, and walked over.

"Hey, Bella. How are you doing?" He asked. I was sure he could probably feel my despair, but I didn't feel like explaining about it.

"I'm fine thanks Jasper." I replied, and forced a smile. After that, the teacher walked in and told everyone to take their seats. He sat me next to Jasper fortunately, so I was relieved. As I was sitting down, someone else walked into the room. I didn't look up, but from the scent, I could tell that it was a wolf. The teacher assigned the wolf a seat, and I looked up as the person was walking away from us.

It was the one female in the pack. Her hair was short like the other guys, and she was fairly well-built, but not butch. She had a serious expression on her face, which quickly turned to a glare when she noticed me staring at her. I avoided looking at her for the rest of the lesson, but instead laughed at Jasper.

We were learning about the American Civil War, and virtually everything the teacher said, Jasper rebuked it. As it turned out, Jasper had served as a soldier in the war, and so he knew exactly what it was like. He was getting frustrated with everything the teacher said which was wrong. I tried my best not to burst out laughing. I was sure that Jasper was just trying to cheer me up, and I appreciated it.

Eventually the lesson ended, and Jasper and I walked out together. I had chemistry next with Edward, so we parted, and I headed over towards the science labs. People seemed to subconsciously avoid me as I walked through the corridors. It made the knife twist inside of me. I kept my head down, to avoid seeing the people who walked a few extra inches away from me.

When I reached the science lab, I walked into the class and took my seat. Edward wasn't there yet, so I took a few seconds to compose myself and not let it show how I felt. Hopefully Jasper hadn't told him anything.

He walked in a few minutes after me, his hair in its usual casual disarray. He walked in front of the fan, which blew his sweet scent towards me. He smelt so good.

"Hello." He said, and I looked over to where he was sitting. His eyes were still a bright gold form last nights hunting trip. He looked slightly concerned, so I decided that he had talked to Jasper. I internally prayed that he wouldn't broach the subject, and my prayers seemed to be answered for the time being. We just talked about anything for a few minutes until the teacher came.

The lesson today was about titration, so we were going to be doing a practical. I had always found this experiment difficult as a human; maybe it would be easier now. I scolded myself for comparing myself now, to the human I once was. That life was long lost, so I was stuck with being a monster. I didn't want anything to link me in my mind to myself of two years ago. I wasn't me anymore.

"Slowly add the hydrogen chloride until you notice a colour change. Then note the volume…" I tuned out the instructions and focused more on watching Edward. He was far more interesting.

He was wearing an old band t-shirt today with some baggy jeans. The look suited him, and the shirt was tight enough to show his perfectly defined abs and…. No! Bad Bella. Don't think about that. I looked away from Edward and returned my attention to what the teacher was saying.

When he had finally given all the instruction, we went about collecting all the equipment from around the room. We set it all up, and conducted the experiment with incredible ease and precision. Edward and I had finished before some people had even set up. Apparently the experiment was more complicated to the human mind.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me tonight Bella?" His question was unexpected, so I sat there for a few seconds gathering my thoughts.

"Sure. That sounds like fun. Is there anywhere nice around here? I'm not used to the countryside; I'm more of a city girl."

"Don't worry. When I have shown you some of the sights around here, you will never want to return to the city again. There are some amazing places nearby, but most are better in the sun. Even with our eyesight, some things still appear better in daylight."

"Isn't it meant to be sunny on Friday? We could go to some of the places then." I suggested, remembering being told that I wouldn't be going to school. It seemed like a good opportunity.

"That sounds like a great idea. I have a great place in mind too." He smirked and seemed to get lost in his thoughts. I wish I could get lost in my thoughts without it being depressing, it would be such a nice change. I always seemed to relate everything to how much of a monster I was.

The rest of the lesson passed peacefully. We finished our work and chatted idly. It was dinner next, which I wasn't looking forward to. At least in lessons there was something to occupy my mind with.

"You know, if you go to dinner, Mike is going to invite you to one of his parties next weekend. And he won't stop pestering you about it. Alice told me. So if you want, we can go explore the forest at the back of the school for a while." I agreed, as an insistent Mike wasn't something I wanted to deal with right now.

When the bell went, we walked out of school, and when no one was paying attention to us, we walked into the forest together.

Edward had said that he wanted to show me the better aspects of this life. This was his opportunity.

"Follow me if you can," he said, smirking. Suddenly he disappeared as he climbed the tree which he was stood next to. I instantly shot up after him, but he was too fast for me to catch. All too soon I ran out of tree, and was hanging from the top branch. I looked around for Edward, and saw him about ten trees away from me. I swung myself towards to next trees and let go of my current one. I flew through the air and I felt so exhilarated. I grabbed the next tree, feeling incredibly energised. I covered the next few trees easily, and was soon following Edward through the trees. He seemed to be leading me somewhere, but I couldn't quite tell.

Suddenly the cover of trees broke, and I was in front of the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen. In front of me was a huge lake spreading far back. On the other side of the lake, was a small mountain range. I could hear the small little creatures around me going about their business, and I could smell the pine from the trees. All my senses were alive, and I felt happier than I ever had in this life. Edward had said that he would show me the positive aspects of being a vampire, and he had managed that spectacularly.

* * *

**Please review, let me know how it was**


	9. Chapter 9

**Only a short one. Hope you like it**

* * *

After ten minutes or so looking at the view in silence, we started heading back slowly. I reached the school feeling more relaxed and calm than I had in a long time. As we walked towards the school I turned towards Edward.

"Thank you so much for taking me there. It was amazing what you showed me." I didn't know what else to say, little I wanted to say could be explained in words. I was so grateful towards him. It meant more than I could say that he was trying his best to cheer me up.

"It's no problem. I have plenty more places to show you, don't worry. Like on our walk tonight." He reminded me. I couldn't wait for that. Part of me was excited to be alone with Edward again, but I also wanted to see what else he had to show me.

"It sounds great. I have to go to English before Alice comes and drags me to class. She can't wait to perform our play." I rolled my eyes and he laughed. I moved to hug him, as it seemed appropriate in the situation. He looked unsure at first, but before I could back out, he took me in his arms. Ok, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. It was a gentle squeeze.

I headed to English, having to try hard to resist skipping. I was so happy, and I think that Alice noticed that as I walked into class as she raised her eyebrow.

"Where were you and Edward this dinner?"

"Edward took me to see this beautiful lake. It was amazing." She still looked suspicious, but nodded her head slowly. Just then the teacher entered the room, so I turned my attention to the front. The lesson went rather slowly, with all of us having to perform our scenes. Some renditions were shocking, but we got a huge applause for ours.

Alice and I put our all into our expressions and voices, and the class loved it. We were both grinning hugely when we sat back down. When I thought the lesson was never going to end, the bell went.

I wasn't looking forward to the next lesson. In fact I was dreading it. At least I had Alice and Edward with me. Alice was grumbling quietly to herself as we walked towards the gym.

"What's the matter Alice?" I asked, knowing she was just itching to tell someone what she was annoyed at.

"We have one of the Quileute, so I can't see anything. It is _so_ annoying." She growled slightly, and resisted the urge to laugh, as I knew it would end badly for me.

Once we were inside the changing rooms, Alice handed me a small black bag. I guessed it was my P.E. kit, so I took it off of her. Inside was a Forks High kit that looked far too small for me. I glared at her, but she gave me a look which told me not to try it. I decided that I would just not argue for once, and got changed.

Everything was tight fitting, but I would have to put up with it. I got even more jealous looks as I left the changing rooms from all the girls around us.

When we entered the gym, we went to mingle with the guys who were already there. Alice and I went over to Edward, and were idly until a voice said my name from behind me. I turned to see a sheepish Jacob.

"Please can I speak to you Bella…over there" he pointed to somewhere away from Alice and Edward. I said nothing but followed him, curious as to what he had to say.

"Listen. I…er….just wanted to say, you know, that I'm…sorry." He whispered the last part, and his hand was raised to the back of his neck. He avoided my eyes. I realised how hard this was for him. Not just because of his hatred of vampires, but also because of who he was. He didn't seem like the kind of person to admit he was wrong.

"It's fine Jacob. Don't worry about it," I didn't want him feeling bad about telling me the truth, well partly the truth.

"I realised how harsh I was, and I kind of felt bad. I know I shouldn't because you're a bloodsucker, but I did." I gave him a small smile. The coach shouted for everyone to get into teams of two. We were playing volleyball. I looked around for a team mate. No one here would probably want to be with me due to their subconscious knowledge of what I was.

"Do you want to be team mates?" Jacob asked from behind me. I turned around astonished. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I mean, I'm sure there's someone here that isn't already paired up." I knew that was unlikely, so I decided to take him up on his offer.

"I suppose you're the only one left." He rolled his eyes and we went to find a court. Alice and Edward had to opponent so we headed over to them. They scowled slightly at my choice of partner, but Alice quickly covered her displeasure.

"So, who's serving?" She chirped.

That P.E. lesson was one of the best I'd ever had. But, then again, that wasn't saying much. Ignoring the glares and heated glances from my vampire friends, Jacob and I had a great laugh. We were both equally competitive, and so we both always went for the ball. I had to be careful not to hurt him as we collided mid-air, which was fairly often. I also was careful not to let our skin meet, as I guessed that being around me was hard enough for him.

We had no chance of winning, as Alice and Edward never missed a shot, whereas we missed most of them. It didn't bother me though. Jacob and I could barely stop laughing to actually play. This seemed to annoy Edward and Alice, which only seemed to spur Jacob on.

I was slightly worried as to their reaction once I left the gym. As the lesson grew closer to an end, I grew more and more nervous. When the lessons finally finished, I gulped.

Jacob turned to me smirking. He probably knew that I'd be in trouble. I had a sudden moment of bravery, or you could call it stupidity, as I held my hand out to Jacob. He looked at me as if I had gone mad. I didn't think he would take it, but he clenched his jaw and placed his hand in mine.

The difference in temperature really shocked me, but I didn't drop my hand. Jacob's hand was shaking slightly in mine. Decided not to push it I dropped his hand. His whole form relaxed and he grinned at me.

"Seeya later Bella."

I didn't turn to Alice or Edward, but headed straight for the changing rooms. I knew it was cowardly and that I'd have to face their wrath sooner of later, but later was better than now.

Of course it didn't take long for Alice up with me. She approached me from behind as I was getting changed.

"What was all that about?" Her voice was low and accusing. If she was like this, I'd hate to see Edward's reaction. She only seemed to dislike the wolves because she couldn't see them in her visions. Edward seemed to dislike them, because he was supposed to.

"What? I was being friendly with him. I don't feel like constantly being at his throat and arguing. I don't like fighting."

"I don't like it Bella. Whenever you're around him I can't see anything to do with you. It makes me nervous." She whined.

"I can handle myself." She left it at that, but I knew she was itching to continue arguing.

"Once thing I will say is that Edward isn't happy." I bit my lip as I thought about that situation. I knew it would annoy him; I just didn't want him to be too angry with me. I didn't do it to deliberately annoy him. We headed to the car park on silence, where we found Edward leaning lazily against the Volvo. He didn't even look at me, but climbed into the car.

Alice gave me a quick hug, before I climbed into the Volvo.

The car journey home was so tense that you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. I didn't want to break the silence though, so I kept my mouth shut. Now that I thought about it more, I felt guilty. I had spent a wonderful afternoon with him in the woods, and I knew it would annoy him by playing with Jacob. On the other hand, he shouldn't be bothered by it, as it didn't affect him. I did not see the point in being so hostile with each other all the time.

Unfortunately Edward didn't feel the same way as me, as he turned to look at me.

"Want to take our walk now?"

* * *

**I want your opinion. Should _i_ do the walk in Edward's point of view? Or should I keep going in Bella's?**

**Please let me know**

**XxX**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am really sorry about how long it has taken me to update. I have been unbelievably busy recently. I hope this chapter is worth the wait**

* * *

I followed him silently into the woods behind their house. If my heart could beat, it would be going crazy right now. For some reason what he thought about what I did mattered to me more than anyone else's opinion. I didn't like his power over me. Hopefully he wouldn't realise that he held this power.

We went at human pace, which didn't help my nerves. The slow pace seemed to count down the time until he told me what he thought.

He led me far into the forest, following the river. There were no animals around, as they had probably sensed our presence and ran away. The tense atmosphere had still not left us since the car. I didn't like the silence, but I was still unable to break it. Every time I tried to open my mouth, something inside me held it shut. I settled on letting him talk.

We walked for about half an hour before reaching a break in the trees. The moonlight gently lit up and small pool. A little waterfall filled the pool. The whole area was enclosed in trees, and was very private. Around the pools were some large rocks. Edward sat down on one of these and looked me in the eye for the first time since last lesson.

"Why?" He asked, his velvet voice was low and threatening.

"Why, what?" I tried to play the dumb card, to buy myself a bit of time. He saw through it though and glared at me.

"Why are you trying to get close to that _wolf_?"

"What's the problem with it? It isn't doing either of us any harm." I retorted. I would have to be careful to control my anger.

"Neither of you might get hurt. But what about the people around you when you make him phase?"

"What do you mean?" I was unaware of any danger when we were together.

"I mean, when you cause him to change into his wolf form. The wolves find it hard enough to be around us as it is. You being so close to _Jacob_ is only making it harder on him." He sneered his name, like Jacob was little more than a bug.

"But he wasn't finding it difficult in P.E. There was no danger." We were getting along fine. Sure the smell of dog was a bit annoying, but I found that if I tried to ignore it that it didn't bother me too much

"That's what you think. I could see what he was thinking Bella. His whole form shies away from contact with you. Your smell burns his nostrils. Did you notice that his hand was shaking when you held it?" I nodded. "That was because he was close to phasing."

I was in shock. I thought he was shaking because he didn't like the feel of my cold skin or something.

"But he didn't. He managed to keep himself together." I argued. If Jacob could manage that, we could manage in the long run.

"That isn't the point. The wolves are unpredictable. They could phase at any time and hurt lots of people around them. They are big in their wolf forms. Not only that, but you would be revealing their presence, and possibly ours if we had to fight with them."

"But it won't come to that, because he won't phase. I trust him not to. We aren't exactly going to be touching all the time or anything. I just want to be friends. Why do we have to fight all the time?"

"We don't fight all the time, because we mostly avoid each other. It's easier. It is against our instincts to get along." I didn't believe that for one second.

"Is it instincts? Or it just something that you all believe that because you have been told to. I don't feel a natural instinct to attack the wolves. In fact, if you get to know them, I bet they are really nice people like us, with the same misconceptions that you have." He paused for a second to think about what I said.

"Even if that is true, what can we do to change the deep-rooted hatred between us? The wolves are not willing to do anything but get by with us without it coming to fighting. Anything more than that it pushing it."

"But I can get along with Jacob just fine, because I'm not blinded by what I'm supposed to think. I am allowed to think what I want, so we don't have a problem. I'm not going to stop talking to Jacob as I don't see the problem any of you have with it. If you want I'll take extra showers after I've been with him, but that's it." He didn't seem too happy with what I'd said but he let it drop. After a while to turned to me smiling.

"So what do you think of this place?" He asked, his entire demeanor suddenly changing. I prefered this Edward. I looked around to take everything in before answering.

"It is really secluded and peaceful. I like it here."

"I thought you would. I come here to think sometimes, when I have to get away from all the happy couples." He grimaced at the last bit.

"So no one had caught your eye in the last few centuries?" I teased, trying to lighten his mood a little.

"Possibly." I didn't like his vague answer so I scowled at him.

"No one good enough for you then?" He just raised his eyebrow at me.

"Not really. I just didn't find them interesting. I tried a few relationships, but it never worked out."

"Have you ever thought you could be gay?" It came out before I could stop myself, I was only joking but he growled at me.

"You are _so_ going to pay for that." Before I could react he had jumped on top of me and pulled me into the pool. It was fairly deep so I was completely submerged. He let go of me and swam to the surface. One I reached the surface I glared at him.

"That was completely unnecessary!" I screamed at him. I didn't like getting drenched. He just laughed at me. To stop him from laughing I leapt onto him and pulled him back under the water.

We wrestled under the water playfully before ending up looking at each other, face to face. He looked into my eyes, and the whole world seemed to slow down. I wanted to lean in, but I still knew deep down that he couldn't like me, so I playfully pushed against his chest and swam up.

As I climbed out of the pool, I watched him swimming over. He seemed to be deep in thought, so I didn't talk. I needed to be more careful around him, otherwise I might be tempted to do something which I would regret.

When Edward got out of the pool, he gestured with his hand that we should walk. I walked beside him. It was a calm walk. We were still dripping wet, so I was sure we would get questioned by Emmett when we got back.

After we were walking for a while, Edward tentatively took my hand. It shocked me at first, due to the electricity I felt running between us. I gently squeezed his hand, and we walked hand in hand back to the house.

I wondered what our holding hands meant, but I tried to put it to the back of my mind. Alice and I had held hands before now, it didn't mean anything. I was just being silly and getting my hopes up.

All the lights were on when we finally reached the house. Even though they didn't need the lights, it was obvious they were very careful in keeping up their human identities. We walked up the steps to the front of the house, and Edward dropped my hand. I was disappointed at the loss of contact, but didn't let it show.

Everyone was in the main room around a phone. It seemed a bit strange.

"Great. You're back; we can ring the Denali's now." Said Alice, from the centre of the semicircle with surrounded the phone. I remembered Edward mentioning the Denali coven before. They were other vampires who followed the Cullen's lifestyle. Edward and I sat down on the sofa at the edge of the group. Alice dialled a number and put it on speakerphone. It didn't ring for long, until a woman answered on the other end.

"Hello," said a voice.

"Hello, Tanya. How are you, and the rest of your family?" said Carlisle.

"We are all doing very well thank-you. And you?" replied Tanya. Her voice was very girly, and made me want to cringe.

"We are doing fine thank-you. Actually we have some interesting news," Carlisle told her, and looked at me with a friendly smile. "We have a new vampire in the neighbourhood. "

"Oh really, how interesting. What is this vampire's name? I may know them."

"Her name is Bella. She is fairly young, and is currently attending Forks High School." Carlisle explained to her. "She is actually here right now, Tanya." Carlisle nodded towards me, so I presumed I was supposed to say something.

"Hi, Tanya." I said quietly, feeling very shy all of a sudden. A wave of confidence washed over me, and I smiled at Jasper.

"Hello Bella. Let me introduce you to my family. Unfortunately you can't put names to faces, but you will be more familiar with us when we visit. Here is Kate and Irina, my sisters." Two women greeted me over the phone. "Also we have Eleazar and Carmen, who are married to each other." Two more vampires said 'hello'. "Tell us a bit about yourself Bella." Said Tanya. As I listened to her voice, I noticed a slight Russian accent to her words.

"I was turned when I was sixteen, two years ago. I don't know who made me. I moved to Forks to start a new life, and I met the Cullens here, and they've been really nice to me." I didn't really know what else to say.

"Do you have any powers?" Asked one of the other women. I thought it was Kate.

"No I don't," Before they had chance to reply, Edward spoke.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. I can't read her mind. I don't know if it's a power she possesses, or if it is my power failing, but it could be something." I didn't believe that it was his power failing, nor did I believe it was a power that I possessed. It was just my mind being messed up.

"Possibly. Eleazar may be able to shed some light on that matter when we visit. When can we visit by the way? It seems like forever since we have seen you all." The woman, Kate, sounded sad.

"You will be coming in about a month's time, Kate. Don't worry." Alice said, trying to cheer the vampire up.

"We will have to sort out some more details closer to the time. Well it has been lovely to speak to you all. And it had been lovely to meet you, so to speak, Bella. I can't wait to meet face to face." I was sure that I could wait. From the Cullen family, I could see that vampires were extremely beautiful. I was sure that the Denali coven would be no different, and my self-confidence was low as it was.

After that, everyone seemed to go their own ways. Edward and I went up to his room, like the previous night to read again.

I could get used to this routine, it was nice. We felt comfortable in each other's presence. I read another one of my favourites that night, 'Pride and Prejudice'. We just sat in silence for the night, occasionally looking up at each other and smiling.

Once again the sun brought me back into reality, letting me know that morning was coming. I put my book down and walked to the balcony in Edward's room. Opening the door, I walked onto the balcony, and watching the sun rise. I knew it wouldn't be visible for long, as Alice had said that it was only tomorrow which we would need to take off of school. It was still nice to stand in the warmth for now though.

I closed my eyes to avoid looking at me skin. It was the one thing I really didn't like about this existence. It was the least human trait I had. I heard Edward put his book down and walked over to me. He leant on the balcony next to me, and I listened to his steady breathing.

"Why are you closing your eyes?" He whispered. His voice sent shivers down my spine.

"So that I can't see my skin." I replied, whispering also. I knew everyone else would still be able to hear us, but if we spoke at a normal volume after our night of peace and silence, it wouldn't feel right. He touched my arm, and moved me to face him. I still kept my eyes closed.

"Open your eyes, Bella." I obeyed him without thinking, and I was glad I did. Edward's skin glittered in the light, like a million little diamonds. I had never paid attention to the way my skin shone, but now paying attention to Edward, I could see that it was truly beautiful, in an unnatural way.

"Don't close your eyes. You look amazing at the moment, with the way the sun catches your skin." He murmured, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. I found myself holding my breath. He smiled at me and looked deeply into my eyes.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Alice cam barging in.

"Come on, we need to get you dressed for today." She chirped. I glared at her and said goodbye to Edward, before following her out of the door.

* * *

**Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you =]**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry it's taking so long to update, but I only have one more week of exams left, and after that I can update more often.**

* * *

Like the day before, Alice picked out my entire outfit for me, but this time I didn't argue with her. She was a bit more sensible today, with some skinny jeans and a nice blouse.

Once Alice decided that I was ready, we headed to school in the cars. Edward and I were chatting about the population of Forks High School.

"Mike is like a little puppy. He keeps following me." I complained, remembering his persistence to be near me. Luckily I didn't have many lessons with him.

"You're lucky you don't hear his thoughts then. It's disgusting." I didn't expect anything less from a guy his age, but I tried not to think of it. It was nicer to think of him as an innocent young boy. It stopped me getting paranoid around him.

The day was rather boring, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. We spent dinner discussing out plans for tomorrow, seeing as though we had a free day. Rose and Emmett were heading to Minnesota, as Emmett wanted to hunt some black bear, and maybe some timber wolf. At the mention of wolves I thought about Jacob. I hadn't seen him today. I passed a few of the other wolves in the corridor, and earned a few glares fromt them, but I hadn't seen him. He wasn't in algebra that day. I was mildly worried about him, but not too much, as I knew he could be anywhere.

As soon as Edward mentioned that we would be spending the day together tomorrow, Emmett started commenting.

"He moves quick doesn't he Bella," He was wiggling his eyebrows in a way that made me laugh. "She's not denying it."

"We are going on a _walk_ Emmett. Nothing else. Get your mind out of the gutter." Edward growled at him. Edward looked ready to jump at him until Jasper sent us all waves of calm.

Throughout dinner, Rosalie just looked out of the window. She had now resorted to ignoring me. She didn't even look at me, never mind talk to me. It was as if I didn't exist. I supposed it was better than having her insulting me all the time, but this actually hurt more. I didn't know what I had done exactly, or how to fix it. Maybe time would fix it.

The second half of the day went impossibly slow. Especially last lesson, as we had biology.

I didn't mind biology, as I got to spend it with Edward, but we watched a video today. It was strange. As soon as the lights went out, I felt that familiar electricity running between us, but we weren't touching. I clenched my fists and pulled my arms into my body to stop myself from reaching over to him, not even looking at him, with the fear that it would make it worse. It was the longest lesson I'd ever had to endure, and I was relieved when it finally ended.

Edward and I walked back to his car together, talking about tomorrow. He wouldn't tell me where he was taking me, only that I'd love it.

As soon as I walked through the door to the Cullen mansion, Emmett and Jasper acquisitioned me.

"We're taking Bella out for a bit. You've been stealing her all the time. And so has Alice. It's our turn." I was now scared of Emmett, and what he was planning. I shot Edward a pleading look, but he just smirked at me.

Suddenly Emmett shocked me by lifting me up over his shoulder and running with Jasper out of the house and into the woods.

"You know I can run myself?" I growled at Emmett, not really appreciating the position.

"Go ahead then." He said, and threw me over his shoulder and behind him. By the time I had landed, they were far out of sight, so I ran as fast as I could to catch up. I wasn't as fast as Edward, but I was still fast. I caught up with them after a few minutes, and surprised Emmett by leaping on his back and knocking him to the ground with a loud crash.

I found my feet fairly quickly, and laughed at Emmett, who was covered in mud from where he had landed.

"So what are we doing out here?" I asked them, wondering what they had in store for me.

"Not much really. Maybe a bit of hunting or something. We didn't really plan anything," replied Jasper. I grew slightly nervous at what they might do. Jasper must have picked up on my anxiousness. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you." He winked at me, and I laughed.

Somehow my instincts refused to believe him, looking at all his scars. However I pushed them to the back of my mind.

We decided to go hunting for a bit, and I was all for it. The sooner I got used to this diet the better. Emmett found a herd of elk, and we all hunted together. We leapt at our prey in prefect synchronicity. It was really cool, sort of like a dance. I watched Jasper and Emmett take down some prey after that, watching them. Emmett was very much like a bear, huge but powerful. Jasper, on the other hand, reminded me of a panther. He was sleek and fast, and deadly at the same time.

For a while we just chased the herd around, not really hunting them. After we got bored of that, Emmett challenged me to some wrestling. I didn't really want to, as I had never fought anyone before, but he insisted.

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun. I'll go easy on you. Maybe I'll even teach you a few tricks."

Sensing my acceptance to his challenge, he started circling me. We continued circling for a little while longer, until Emmett leapt at me. Within a second he was behind me with his teeth on my neck.

"I win," he said triumphantly, and jumped up. I growled at him, and folded my arms across my chest.

"Let me teach you some moves Bella. Remember that Emmett has been fighting for decades, and he has that on his side." Jasper said. He taught me a few techniques, and gave me some pointers on how to fight. It was really interesting.

By the time we had finished, it was already pitch black. It gave a whole new atmosphere to the woods. It was slightly eerie, due to the silence surrounding us. I could hear all the nocturnal animals emerging from their dens. Even at this time, the forest was still full of life.

We all decided to head back to the house, as it was around 3 o'clock in the morning. I hoped that we would be able to go out with Emmett and Jasper more often; they were fun to be around. Emmett made everyone around him feel good, laugh and smile. Jasper could also do that, but also a lot more. It was a relief to not be controlled by my emotions for a while.

When we arrived back at the house, Rosalie was waiting for Emmett with two suitcases looking annoyed. I walked quickly past her, and tried to avoid listening to the argument going on between her and Emmett. She didn't like the fact that he had been out with me for so long. I found Esme sitting in the dining room working on some plans for a new project.

"Hello darling. Is everything ok?" She asked. Having someone care about me was nice. I hadn't felt it since I'd been with my mother, and still being relatively young; I missed that kind of contact.

"I was wondering if there is anywhere in the house where I could practice my dancing." I said quietly.

"Of course. The attic is a large open space where you'll have plenty of room. Can you find it, or should I show you?"

"I'm sure I'll find it. Thank you Esme." I skipped off to find the stairs to the attic. I was sure they were near my room.

Once I'd found the stairs I walked up to the attic. It was perfect for my dancing. It was like a large hall, with three of the walls being made out of glass, which in daylight would make it incredibly bright.

I didn't want to bother anyone with asking for some music, so I recalled one of the favourite songs to dance to in my head. I utilised all of the space which I had available. Dancing helped me forget everything, even if it was just for a few hours.

I heard some music being put on downstairs, but I ignored it. I was too transfixed with getting every move to flow perfectly. Then I heard someone approaching, walking up the stairs and then waiting at the top of them, but I waited to finish the dance before looking at the person.

Edward was standing there, leaning against the far wall smiling at me and clapping slowly. I skipped over to him, and stood directly in front of me.

"Care to dance?" I asked him, holding out my hand and smirking. He took my hand and led me to the centre of the room. Trying to ignore the electricity due to our hands touching, I listened to the music below us as the song changed. An old, jazz tune came on which I didn't recognise.

Edward led me in the dance, which was like the quickstep, but a little different. Neither of us stepped on the others feet, and we managed to move together perfectly in time. I found myself smiling widely at him, and he was returning it.

When that dance finished another song came on, and we carried on dancing for a further three songs. When the last song finished we let go of each other. I was both relieved and upset that we were no longer touching.

"You are going to be attacked by Alice any second, so I probably won't see you for a while. We'll set off for our walk at about seven." As soon as he finished speaking, Alice appeared at the top of the stairs, looking evil.

"Come on, Bella. I'm going to do your hair." She looked surprised when I didn't object. I actually liked people playing with my hair. My mum always used to do it to calm me down. I followed her down the stairs and into her room. She handed me a towel, and pushed me towards the bathroom.

"Go wash your hair and use the hair products in there in the order I have labelled them and follow the instructions on each bottle." I rolled my eyes at her meticulous planning, but obeyed.

Around the shower were several bottles, all with a large number taped on them, and several bullet points telling me exactly how to use them. She had made it so simple; I felt that I should be insulted. I hopped into the shower and followed all of her instructions. Alice knew her stuff though, as my hair felt extremely soft when I stepped out of the shower.

For two hours, Alice played, pulled and sprayed at my hair. I kept my eyes closed, just enjoying the feelings of it. I didn't have a clue what she was doing to me, but I couldn't find it in myself to care.

When Alice finally stopped moving, I opened my eyes. Suddenly she disappeared, and reappeared with a full length mirror. I seemed strange looking at the little pixie holding the huge mirror without a problem. It didn't seem right.

However all this was registered in the back of my mind, as I stared at the miracle Alice had worked. She had teased my long hair into gentle curls, which fell on my shoulders. Some of my hair was pulled to the back of my head, and held with what felt like a clasp. It was also extremely shiny and vibrant. It was the one part of me that looked human.

I hugged her with one arm, as she was still holding the mirror.

"Thank you so much Alice. It looks amazing." I said. She looked extremely pleased with herself.

"If this is how you are going to react to me doing your hair, I'll do it more often. Can I dress you?" This part I was looking less forward to, but I let her drag me to my wardrobe anyway. Luckily she didn't seem to be in an over-the-top mood, and picked out something which was remotely sensible for walking.

With the whole outfit together, I looked at the clock. It was ten to seven, so I walked to Edward's room. Even though I was early, he was ready to go when I knocked on his door.

"Are you ready?" He asked in his silky voice. I just nodded in reply. He took my hand and led us away.

* * *

**Please review, if you have any suggestions or anything like that, let me know **

**XxX**


	12. Chapter 12

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope it's all right. Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed. You make me very happy =]**

* * *

Edward insisted that we walked to the place he was taking us, rather than run. He claimed he wanted to take his time, and I didn't argue. I enjoyed the feeling of safety, which I felt whenever I was around him.

He drove us to the end of a road and the cut the engine. It was early, so the sun wasn't completely out yet. This meant we could safely wander in the sun for now. Ahead of us was a trail leading into the forest. However, Edward led us away from the trail, and into the forest, with nothing seeming to guide him.

After a few minutes Edward took my hand in his, an action which was getting familiar. It didn't stop the electrical feeling where his hand met mine, but I was getting better at ignoring it. As we were walking we decided to ask each other questions.

"How about this, we each ask each other 1 question per turn. Does that seem fair?" I nodded, looking into his smouldering honey eyes. He suddenly gave me his amazing crooked smile. "The colour of your eyes is already diluted. You won't need contacts anymore. People won't suspect orange as much a red." I was relieved at this knowledge, as the contacts were such a hassle.

"I'll go first then, shall I?" He asked.

"Sure, go ahead." I was nervous at the questions he had in store, but also excited at the questions I could ask him.

"What is your favourite colour?" I was taken aback by his question. I was expecting something a little more difficult than that. It took me a seconds to formulate a response.

"Brown," I replied. I felt safe with the colour brown, it was a warm colour. But everything brown here was covered in green stuff. Before he could question me about it, I asked my question. "Where is your favourite place to be?"

I decided to keep it light, like he had. He looked thoughtful before replying.

"The place to which we are going." He was so bloody cryptic! It was so annoying at times.

"Which would be?" I growled, and he laughed at my obvious annoyance.

"Only one question per round, Bella." He reminded me. I growled quietly, while he thought of his next question. "What is your favourite flower?" This one made me think. I had never really thought much about flowers as a human, nor had I ever received them. After some long thinking, I answered.

"Chrysanthemum, I think. I don't really have much experience where flowers are concerned."

"Chrysanthemums are the official flower of the city of Chicago, where I was born" He told me. I didn't know that. "Are you happy that I can't hear your thoughts?" This I found easy to answer.

"Yes, I'm naturally a very private person, especially with my thoughts. Most of my friends could never tell what I was thinking. My mum always could though. So yeah, I like the privacy." He thought about this for a while, before I asked him my question. I decided to get away from the lighter questions, and go a bit deeper. The only thing that could happen, was that he could refuse to answer my question.

"What is it like living in a house with 3 perfectly matched couples?" I had been thinking about this for a while. It couldn't be too pleasant, especially with being able to hear their thoughts, and the preternatural hearing. He grimaced when I asked him, and I didn't think he was going to reply. When I was just about to take my question back, he answered.

"Normally I try not to let it bother me. I try to be happy for them. But it is hard to be around them, hearing their happy thoughts about having their partner with them for life, and the love they feel. When Emmett was first made, Rosalie and he were impossible to be around. Even Carlisle and Esme struggled, and eventually we had to kick the newlyweds out. We couldn't handle the sexual tension around them, never mind when they went to release it. Jasper suffered the most though, I think. He could feel their lust, and when it got too much, he even projected that lust to everyone else with his ability without realising it."

He was trying to be light-hearted about it, but it was clear that it hurt him. To avoid any further questions from me, I presumed, he quickly asked me his question.

"What was your favourite food as a human?" He seemed genuinely interested in the answer to this question.

"I don't really know. I liked Italian a lot, like lasagne. But also, some Mexican was nice. I liked the spice in Mexican. That's a hard question. It depended on the situation, as to what I felt like, weather and many other things." He took every word in as if it was the most fascinating thing he had ever heard.

"I can't remember the taste of food. It's too long ago." He whispered sadly. I could sympathise with him. If I was in his position, I would be sad at the loss of yet a little more humanity. To distract him from his misery, I asked him another question.

"Have you always drunk animal blood?" I asked. He suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable, and wouldn't meet my gaze. "Edward?" I prompted.

"Not always. At first I followed Carlisle's example. I could read the sincerity in his thought about how he felt about taking human lives. It made it easier for me to think that it was how I felt too. However after a decade or so, I decided to go out on my own, as I felt he was limiting my diet. It was sort of a period of adolescent rebellion.

"For a few years I followed this diet, only hunting the lowlife of people, murderers and rapists. In my head I thought that if I only hunted these people, my existence could be justified. Eventually I turned back to Carlisle, who accepted me with open arms." He was opening up to me more than I could have asked. He looked at me, with a mischievous looks replacing to nostalgic and regretful one.

"So, tell me Bella, what is your dating history?" If I could blush, I'd look like a tomato right now. This was a subject I really didn't want to breach. It was too embarrassing. Edward glanced at me due to my silence. I decided to be honest.

"I have never dated anyone." I said quietly. The shock was clearly evident on his face.

"No one at all?" He asked.

"That's two questions. Any anyway, is this where we're meant to be…" My voice trailed off at the end, as we approached a huge meadow. I was too lost in talking to Edward to notice where we were. From the shade, I admired the vast open space. Wildflowers of all colours were scattered among the long grass, and blew gently in the slight breeze. Their pollen filled my nostrils with their sweet scents. The sun was out in all its glory, and I was slightly nervous to go out into it.

Edward, as if sensing my hesitation, pulled my gently into the sun, never taking his eyes from mine. As soon as the sun hit his skin, it sparkled as if hitting diamonds. Even though I had seen it before, his magnificence still had a great effect on me.

We walked towards the middle of the meadow and sat down in the long grass. I lay down, allowing the sun access to my ice cold body. The warmth of the sun was extremely pleasant on my skin. Edward was sat up with his eyes closed. I presumed he was thinking, as his brow was slightly furrowed.

I took the opportunity to admire every part of him that I could see. His lightly toned body was clearly visible, as he was wearing a sleeveless shirt.

As I admired him I thought about school. There had been great talk about the spring dance. I wasn't sure about going, but Alice would no doubt drag me to it. I wondered if Edward was going to the dance. Would he be going with anyone? I couldn't think of anyone beside his family that he was even remotely close to beside me. If we were both going, then surely there was no point in going apart. Especially seeing as though we were becoming good friends.

"Edward?" I said. He didn't open his eyes, but made a noise which indicated for me to carry on. "Do you want to go to the spring dance with me? As friends I mean, it's just that I'll be forced to go by Alice as it is a great chance for her to play Bella Barbie and I would be going on my own, because I don't think I could handle any of the guys at school. And if you're going, and you have no one else to go with, then I figured we could go together…" I was cut off in my nervous rambling.

"I'd love to go with you, Bella." He was now looking at me and smiling. My heart soared at this. I knew he meant it in a different way to what I wished, but it made me happy nonetheless.

"Thanks," I mumbled quietly. There was so much going on recently. Next weekend was the hunting trip with the Cullens. After that was the spring formal, and within the few weeks following that, the Denali coven were visiting, as Alice had predicted. I was worried about the latter, as I didn't know much about them. I decided to rectify that.

"Tell me about the Denali coven." I asked Edward. He looked at me curiously, probably trying to decipher my intent, but then proceeded to tell me about them.

"The Denali coven consists of Tanya, Irina and Kate, who are sisters, and Carmen and Eleazar who are partners. Kate and Eleazar both have gifts. Kate can run an electric current across her skin, and it can be extremely powerful. Eleazar's power is slightly more discrete. He can sense what gifts vampires have. Even in humans, if he tries hard enough. He was once with the Volturi, and he was a prized member of their guard. If the Volturi ever went to destroy a large group of vampires, Eleazar would be able to sense if there was anyone worth saving."

I took in all this information. They sounded like an interesting bunch. I was still sure that their visit would create a huge dent in my self-esteem.

"What are Tanya, Kate and Irina like?" I asked, trying to prepare myself for the blow in the next month.

"They are all very friendly. Tanya is like Carlisle, and acts like their leader or like the head of the family. However you wish to see it. There is not much to say really." I left it at that, not wanting to push for information.

We spent the next few hours lying side by side in the meadow, our hands touching. We relaxed in the sun until it set, making the most of its rare appearance.

When it set we ran back to his car, using the exhilarating run to liven ourselves up. Edward opened the door for me, before running round to his side.

This day would be forever imprinted in my mind. It was the best day I had spent in my vampire life so far. The peace, happiness and sense of belonging all contributed to this memory, and I would be ever thankful to Edward for showing me this magical place. Things seemed to be getting so much better since the day I arrived at Forks.

* * *

**A fluffy chapter, but the next chapter shouldn't be so fluffy me thinks. Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**This is just Chapter 12 in Edward's point of view, as it was requested. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope it gives some insight into what Edward is thinking and how he feels. There is no new plot in this chapter, but I'm working on the next chapter at the moment so I will update as soon as I can**

**This chapter is a bit longer than the last one, but that's because Edward thinks a lot**

**x**

* * *

I wanted to walk to the meadow with Bella. Though I told her that I wanted to take my time, it wasn't the compete truth. I wanted to take my time _with her_. I wouldn't tell her that though, as I did not wish to make her uncomfortable.

I had begun to feel extremely protective around Bella. My reaction to Jacob Black was one of the examples of that protectiveness.

I drove us to the end of the road, and led us away from the narrow trail intended for hikers and into the thick forest. At first Bella looked nervous about the lack of trail, but she had no need to be. I regularly came here when I wanted to be alone.

I hoped that she would like the meadow. It wasn't extravagant which she would like. Its beauty was purely natural.

After working up the courage for a few minutes, I finally took her hand in mine. I kept my face natural, as I felt the strange electrical tingling sensation where our skin met. Decades of controlling my expression came in useful, as I couldn't let Bella know about this feeling. She would think that I was odd and it may scare her away.

As we walked I thought of a way to get to know her better. I was interested in her, but I didn't want to pry too much as it was intrusive. I came up with a compromise involving the questions.

"How about this, we each ask each other I question per turn. Does that seem fair?" I asked, looking into her eyes, which were a light orange. It looked far more pleasant than the red. It made me smile as I commented on her eyes.

"The colour of your eyes is already diluted. You won't need contacts anymore. People won't suspect orange as much a red."

We agreed that I could ask the first question. She looked nervous, and I was once again frustrated that I could not read her thoughts and know her worries.

When I asked her what her favourite colour was, I was amused by the look of surprise on her face. Apparently she had been expecting a more difficult question. Her answer puzzled me. Brown was a rather dull colour. I wondered why it was her favourite colour, but I didn't get a chance to ask her why before she asked her question.

"Where is your favourite place to be?"

I thought of all the places that I had ever been. I loved many but I decided that the meadow was my favourite. It was so remote that there were never any humans around, which made it so much more peaceful for me without any mundane thoughts plaguing my mind.

I was cryptic in my answer by replying, "The place to which we are going". I didn't wish to spoil the surprise for Bella. This annoyed her, and I tried my best not to laugh. I couldn't hold it in any longer when she growled: "Which would be?" and my laughter seemed to add fuel to her annoyance.

"Only one question per round, Bella", I reminded her. I considered my next question before deciding to keep it light. For her favourite flower, she took a while to think of an answer.

"Chrysanthemum, I think. I don't really have much experience where flowers are concerned."

Her answer took me back to my human life in Chicago, with chrysanthemums being the official flower of the city. The only clear things that I could really remember were my mother's face and Carlisle changing me.

"Are you happy that I can't hear your thoughts?" I asked her.

This answer I was truly curious about. I found it extremely trying at times that I couldn't read her thoughts, like I could with everyone else. It made it so much harder to understand her, so I tried to understand her facial expressions and body language more. I relied on my gift far too much, and this just proved it. It didn't take her long to reply.

"Yes, I'm naturally a very private person, especially with my thoughts. Most of my friends could never tell what I was thinking. My mum always could though. So yeah, I like the privacy". I wished that I could understand her like her mother used to be able to. I noticed the way that she cast her eyes down slightly when she mentioned her mother in my attempt to comprehend how she felt. I guessed that it meant that she was sad.

"What is it like living in a house with 3 perfectly matched couples?" Her question brought me out of my thoughts. It also brought up a tough subject for me. There were times when I had felt incredibly lonely, even when surrounded by my family. It was often hard to be around them. My answer was a bit long, but I wanted her to understand.

"Normally I try not to let it bother me. I try to be happy for them. But it is hard to be around them, hearing their happy thoughts about having their partner with them for life, and the love they feel. When Emmett was first made, Rosalie and he were impossible to be around. Even Carlisle and Esme struggled, and eventually we had to kick the newlyweds out. We couldn't handle the sexual tension around them, never mind when they went to release it. Jasper suffered the most though, I think. He could feel their lust, and when it got too much, he even projected that lust to everyone else with his ability without realising it."

Towards the end I tried to lighten the tone of my answer, not wanting to show Bella how much it hurt me. She looked inquisitive, so to avoid further questioning, I asked her a quick question.

"What was your favourite food as a human?"

"I don't really know. I liked Italian a lot, like lasagne. But also, some Mexican was nice. I liked the spice in Mexican. That's a hard question. It depended on the situation, as to what I felt like, weather and many other things."

I absorbed everything that she said, telling her that I couldn't remember the taste of food. Her face became sympathetic then, with her lips slightly parted. Food wasn't the only thing that I had forgotten. Memories of my childhood had all but disappeared. I couldn't remember much about growing up, just fleeting flashbacks of happier times. Luckily Bella distracted me from my sorrowful thoughts.

"Have you always drunk animal blood?" I looked her away and felt really uncomfortable about answering. It wasn't a time that I was proud of. However after some prompting, I gave her an answer.

"Not always. At first I followed Carlisle's example. I could read the sincerity in his thought about how he felt about taking human lives. It made it easier for me to think that it was how I felt too. However after a decade or so, I decided to go out on my own, as I felt he was limiting my diet. It was sort of a period of adolescent rebellion.

"For a few years I followed this diet, only hunting the lowlife of people, murderers and rapists. In my head I thought that if I only hunted these people, my existence could be justified. Eventually I turned back to Carlisle, who accepted me with open arms."

I felt like I could trust Bella. It didn't make any sense, as I had only just met her but I was opening up to her more than I had to anyone else in a long time. I thought about how I'd always shut my family out where my feelings were concerned and I felt guilty. It seemed ironic that I could hear all their thoughts but they never heard mine.

Suddenly a question popped into my head about something that I had been curious about for a while. I turned to her with a mischievous grin.

"So, tell me Bella, what is your dating history?" She looked so embarrassed when I asked her. I wondered if she was going to reply and I glanced at her. She took a deep breath before replying quietly.

"I have never dated anyone."

I didn't understand how someone as exquisite as Bella could never have had a relationship. She was so beautiful and she had an amazing personality. I had to confirm that what she'd said was true just to believe her.

"That's two questions. And anyway, is this where we're meant to be…"

We had just reached the edge of the meadow. I instantly knew that she liked it here. A smile graced her lips as she took in the scent of the wildflowers from where we were stood. It made me happy to share this with her. It was like a part of me as I had never brought anyone else here.

She didn't seem to want to go into the sun, and stayed safe in the shade of the trees. I remembered her reaction to the sun on the balcony and what she had said. I had nearly kissed her then but Alice had chosen that moment to conveniently appear. All I heard in her mind was "you'll thank me later".

I walked ahead of her and gently pulled her into the sun. Bella in the sun was even more stunning, though I didn't think it possible before. Her hair had red tints in it where the sun hit it.

Together we walked to the middle of the meadow. As Bella lay down in the grass, seemingly enjoying the sun, I remained sat up and tried to organise my thoughts.

I really liked Bella. That much was clear. We got along so well. I knew in my mind that I wanted us to be more than just friends. However there were too many problems with that. For one, it would cause problems in my family. Rose still wasn't completely happy with Bella's presence. Anything more, especially concerning making Bella's presence more permanent than it already was, would make it a whole lot worse. I felt sorry for Emmett having to deal with her wrath at the moment.

Also it was highly unlikely that she felt the same. There was no way that I could be lucky enough to have someone as exquisite as Bella. Never before had I noticed a woman's beauty as much as I did Bella's. Emmett often teased me about being gay, though I knew I wasn't. Esme was worried that I was made at too young an age, and that there was something wrong with my genetic make-up.

I just wasn't like the boys of this age. I was brought up to be a gentleman and I didn't think about sex all the time, unlike most of the boys at Forks High. But the sight of Bella after hunting the mountain lion with her top shredded produced some rather ungentlemanly thoughts in my mind. Alice had planned it all out to happen like that too, I was becoming increasingly suspicious as to how much she had seen about Bella and me.

I was unsure as to how to proceed, and what to do, but Bella broke the silence.

"Edward?" She said. I kept my eyes closed, and made a noise telling her to continue. "Do you want to go to the spring dance with me? As friends I mean, it's just that I'll be forced to go by Alice as it is a great chance for her to play Bella Barbie and I would be going on my own, because I don't think I could handle any of the guys at school. And if you're going, and you have no one else to go with, then I figured we could go together…" She was incredibly nervous about asking me this, as her voice shook slightly and she was wringing her hands. I felt so happy that she had asked me, I gave her an answer immediately.

"I'd love to go with you, Bella." Her face lit up like a child at Christmas. She thanked me, and we once again sat in silence, while Bella seemed to think about something.

"Tell me about the Denali coven." She requested randomly. I was wondering why she was asking, and where her curiosity had come from. However I put that to the back of my mind, and told her what I could about them.

"The Denali coven consists of Tanya, Irina and Kate, who are sisters, and Carmen and Eleazar who are partners. Kate and Eleazar both have gifts. Kate can run an electric current across her skin, and it can be extremely powerful. Eleazar's power is slightly more discrete. He can sense what gifts vampires have. Even in humans, if he tries hard enough. He was once with the Volturi, and he was a prized member of their guard. If the Volturi ever went to destroy a large group of vampires, Eleazar would be able to sense if there was anyone worth saving."

She seemed to grimace slightly, before asking about Tanya, Irina and Kate.

"They are all very friendly. Tanya is like Carlisle, and acts like their leader or like the head of the family. However you wish to see it. There is not much to say really." I didn't want to go into too much detail, not wanting to reveal anything about Tanya's infatuation with me. It wouldn't be respectful to tell Bella about that. Then again, if Tanya was being her usual self, Bella would see it when they visited.

We said nothing more, but simply lay by each other holding hands and watching the sun set slowly. Eventually it was completely set, and the meadow had become a lot darker and cooler. The coolness didn't bother me, but my mind noted it anyway.

Both feeling a little energetic, we ran back to the car. Being a gentleman again, I opened her door for her, before walking around to my side.

I couldn't stop smiling during the drive home. This had been one of the best days of my existence, and was definitely one I wouldn't forget.

* * *

**Sorry that it's a little repetitive, but I felt like Edward's thoughts should finally be made known. Let me know how it is and review please.**

**XxX**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry about the slow update. I had a complete block where this chapter was concerned. Hopefully it's ok though. Not much of Edward in this chapter. It's more centered around Jacob. More Edward very soon though.**

* * *

For the rest of the weekend we didn't do much else. I did the homework which I had received and had an argument with Alice about fluorescent pink bed sheets and curtains. There was no way that they would be allowed into my house.

In Edward's room I finished three more books form his collection while enjoying the pleasure of his company. During the spare time we had left, I occupied myself with wrestling with Emmett and Jasper and they were teaching me more about how to fight. Being around the Cullens meant that you were never bored.

Monday soon came though, and with it came school. Whilst walking to my second class I noticed that Jacob was back in school. When we passed I tried to say hi to him, but he completely ignored me. It was as if I never existed.

At first I thought that he might have just not noticed me, but I reasoned that the wolves had heightened senses, so he had to have known that I was there. he would have smelt me if nothing else. My next train of thought was that it was something that I had done. I wasn't sure what I'd done wrong, but I would find out tomorrow in algebra.

Nothing else interesting happened that day except Edward and I received a biology assignment to do together.

"I want this assignment on my desk by Monday people," said Mr Banner. Due to the groans in response to the deadline he added: "Any pair who hasn't got it on Monday gets a detention."

"We can finish it during the week, if you'd like." Edward offered, whilst looking into my eyes. "So we don't have to worry about it during the trip this weekend." I simply nodded in response, too mesmerised by his eyes for a verbal response.

We actually finished the assignment that night, having nothing else to do. We lay on his floor with all of our notes spread out on the floor, enjoying ourselves and chatting.

Unfortunately the morning came too soon, forcing me away from Edward to get ready for the coming day. Alice, as usual, had laid my outfit for the day on my bed, so I had a quick shower and got dressed.

I was anticipating seeing Jacob today. In one way I wanted to see him as I wanted to know why he was ignoring me, but at the same time I wasn't sure that I wanted to know the answer.

I was fidgety all through English thinking about the next lesson which earned my a few nervous glances from Alice. I didn't say anything though, so she didn't push.

Eventually the bell went and I walked slowly to algebra. When I reached the class most of the people, including Jacob, were already there and sat down. As I walked to the desk he pointedly looked in the opposite direction and when I sat down he moved his chair away from mine. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, so I took the opportunity to try to talk to him.

"Jacob?" He tensed but didn't look at me. "Why are you ignoring me? Have I don't something wrong?"

He turned slightly and opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out. It like something was stuck in his throat. Just then, the teacher walked in and we both turned to face the front.

After five minutes or so, Jacob pushed a note in front of me.

**(Bold = Jacob Italic = Bella)**

**I can't ****speak**** to you**

I didn't understand what was stopping him.

_Why not? Who says?_

**Sam. I have to stop all contact with you**.

I was annoyed that he would just obey whatever Sam said like that.

_So you just do what he says?_

**I have no choice. Once Sam gives an order, we can't disobey him. I don't want to stop talking to you. You're different to the other bloodsuckers.**

It was sort of a compliment, I suppose.

_Well don't then! How can you talk to me now?_

**Technically I'm not talking, so I can get past the order this way. If Sam finds out though, he'll ban this too.**

_Well that's messed up. He's taking your free will away from you._

**He thinks it's for the good of the pack. The rest of them agree too, well most of them.**

I didn't want to lost contact with Jacob yet. He seemed like such an interesting person, and I'd hoped to become friends with him.

_Can we still keep this up for now though? I'm only just getting to know you. I like you._

**I like you too Bella. Doesn't change anything.**

He didn't confirm whether or not we could keep this up. I hoped he would.

_So there's nothing you can do?_

He just shook his head.

We didn't pass any more notes that lesson but did our work in silence. I would have to get used to it if Sam found out about the notes.

During my free next, I just went to my car and played some loud music. It seemed to relieve some stress. My free period ended too quickly though as the bell rang for dinner.

After walking into the canteen and grabbing some food I went to our table and sat nearest to the window. No one else had arrived yet, so I just looked out of the window, not focusing on anything in particular. I heard the others come in eventually and sit down but I didn't look away. I wasn't much in the mood for talking. Not that Alice noticed.

"Are you ok Bella?" She asked from next to me, stroking my hand which was on the table. I finally tore my gaze from the window to her face, which was creased with worry.

I explained to her everything that Jacob had written. She listened carefully, controlling her emotions and not giving away her feelings. I presumed this news would make her happy, but she probably wanted to spare my feelings. Edward also listened but couldn't keep the relief off of his face at one point.

The day after was exactly the same where algebra was concerned. I arrived at my desk to find a little note from Jacob greeting me. We just passed notes and found out more about each other. He was rebuilding an old Volkswagen Rabbit, he lived with his father in La Push and had two sisters called Rebecca and Rachel.

This method of communication was a bit slow, but I thought that the secrecy and pleasure from disobeying Sam's orders made it more fun and that we grew closer doing it this way than if we had been actually talking.

Before I stood up to leave when the lesson ended, I gently touched his hand. After that I quickly stood up and walked out. But before walking though the door I quickly glanced back at Jacob. He was smiling to himself as he packed his stuff away.

I was beyond relieved that Sam hadn't found out about our notes. Jacob was the only person that I liked who wasn't a vampire. The sad thing was though, that behind that relief was the fear that at one order I could lose Jacob and I'd only just found him.

It seemed strange to like someone I barely knew so much. But he was a really nice guy. And when I saw him smiling just then, it was so genuine and happy. It was infectious as well, proved by the fact that I had a huge smile on my face now.

The smile remained on my dace all thought geography, even with Rosalie present.

In P.E. the teacher paired us up himself for one-on-one volleyball. I was with Edward and I managed to keep my eyes from looking at Jacob so that his other wolf friends wouldn't get suspicious. I wasn't hard to do though. I focused my eyes on the incarnation of Adonis in front of me instead.

I hadn't told anyone else about mine and Jacob's continued note passing. It was our secret in a way, and it didn't feel right to tell anyone.

Edward and I went hunting again the night. I wasn't that thirsty but I wanted my eyes to dilute some more. When we weren't hunting we talked and explored the forest until dawn. As the first beams of the morning sunlight lit up the forest we headed back to the house. Alice scowled at my muddy clothes, due to an aggressive grizzly, but I just stuck my tongue out at her.

I was excited about seeing Jacob again. I had so many questions ready to ask him. However algebra was third lesson, so I had two lessons to endure first. They were fairly boring, basically repeating what I had done in Phoenix. History was made more interesting by Jasper keeping me entertained with his little comments about the teacher's ability to teach.

I was bouncing in my seat when the bell went at the end of geography, eager to get to algebra.

My eagerness was short-lived though.

As soon as I walked through the door, I saw that Jacob had bags under his eyes and his smile had gone. It was replaced by a bitter grimace, a mockery of his happiness yesterday. I could guess what had happened.

There was no note on my desk to say hi like yesterday. He just looked straight ahead. My heart sank as I accepted that I couldn't contact him anymore.

"It's not fair." I said quietly. I knew he heard me as he clenched him fists. I don't know if I decided to carry on talking, but the words came out anyway. "Sam is taking your will away. You're the only person that I like who isn't a vampire. Sam's taking you away from me. Why? What is the problem? We get along. I'm not going to hurt you. Doesn't Sam know that? I don't believe in this whole mutual enemies crap. It's stupid! I wish…I just wish that there was some way…somehow…"

I stopped talking then as I noticed Jacob was shaking violently. I started murmuring to him to calm him down and I tried to sooth him. After a few minutes the shaking was down to a slight trembling. Being at the back of the class was useful as no one had noticed the incident.

We sat in silence after that, as Sam would have wanted.

And I hated it.

* * *

**I wanted to get in the notes from the beginning of Eclipse in somehow as I thought it would be a good idea. Please let me know what ya think and review =]**

**XxX**


	15. Chapter 15

**I wanted to get this out quickly because of the lack of updates recently. Hope it's ok.**

**Thank you so much for the great response to the last chapter. It made me smile lots**

**

* * *

**

No one asked me about my bad mood that day or the next. Thursday evening I spent in Edward's room. Not reading but just sitting on his balcony and staring out into the night. The sky was overcast, so the moon and stars were hidden from sight. The forest was therefore plunged into darkness.

I took solace in the dark night, using the mystery and beauty to distract my mind.

Sometime in the early hours of the morning Edward came to sit by me. Nothing was said but he held my hand in his. When we finally started to move, Edward pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I relaxed into his embrace and he whispered into my ear.

"Smile. You don't look complete without one." Having said that he pulled away and went downstairs.

I gathered my thoughts together which had been scattered as soon as his arms had wrapped around me, and walked over to my room to get dressed.

The day passed as usual. The first two lessons I didn't really pay attention to but third lesson, biology, was more fun. We were doing some practical experiments which kept us occupied.

Once we'd finished our experiment, far before anyone else, Edward told me about where we were going camping. It was in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, south of Mount Rainier.

"Emmett likes it there, due to the large numbers of bears in hunting season." Edward told me.

Lucky for Edward, Alice and me, we had two frees after dinner, so we had plenty of time to get ready for the weekend. Alice wanted to show me my house, as her and Esme had finished it last night. First though, she insisted that I go to the Cullen's and pack my clothes for the trip, so that I could take the rest back to my house.

With the amount of clothes that Alice packed for me, you'd have thought we were staying for a week, not two days. I still had plenty left to take back with me though.

It took efficient packing to fit everything in the Audi, but we managed. Just.

Alice and I headed to my house and Edward agreed to pick us up when we'd finished as Alice didn't want us getting muddy running through the forest.

I grew incredibly nervous as to what would meet me when I walked though the door. I trusted Esme but I didn't know if it was possible to reign Alice in.

"Come on," said Alice, pulling at my hand. "Don't be nervous. Esme rejected most of my ideas."

She opened the door and we walked into the living room. It gasped as I looked around. It was…perfect. They had picked a colour scheme which was warm and casual, blending red brown and cream to create a comforting atmosphere. There was a huge brown leather settee in the corner and the smell of the leather was nice.

Alice took me around the rest of the house. The colour scheme continued through the rest of the house except for the bathroom, which was blue and white. I loved all of it, and I actually took Alice by surprise with my snap decision to hug her to say thank-you.

"I'm glad you like it. Still, I think that fluorescent pink would look great in the bedroom." How did Jasper put up with her?

Suddenly we heard a car pull up outside, presumably Edward. I went downstairs and opened the door to greet him.

"Hey," he said. I smiled and stood aside to let him in.

"We need to get all the clothes upstairs now, you can help us Edward." Chirped Alice, smiling sweetly at her brother. He just rolled his eyes and walked out to my car.

It took us a few journeys to get all of the clothes into the converted wardrobe. The other spare bedroom which was next to my room was now a walk-in wardrobe large enough to house all my clothes and more.

When we'd finally finished, it was time to set off.

"Rose and Em have already gone. As soon as Carlisle has finished his shift he'll go with Esme. Jasper is waiting for you Alice and you can come with me Bella, if that's ok?" asked Edward.

"That's fine. Are we going now?" I replied.

"We're going to drop Alice off, and then we're going yes." We locked the house, and then got in the Volvo to set off to the Cullen's house. Upon arrival, we said our goodbyes to Alice before setting off. She was going to pack her and Jasper's clothes before heading out.

"Usually there are plenty of bears and deer. If you go in deep enough you might find some mountain lions." Edward told me as we travelled. He also told me about the different places there were to visit there, the beautiful sights and scenery.

"Alice is behind us. She thinks we're going too slow." Edward chuckled. I looked behind us and sure enough there was a canary yellow Porsche.

"Well step on it then," I said. A huge grin appeared on his face as the engine revved and we sped up. I heard Alice speed up too. Luckily the road was empty as Edward and Alice raced way over the speed limit. The Volvo was no match for the Porsche, but Edward wouldn't let Alice get past, always blocking her using her thoughts to predict her moves.

"Move Edward! Or so help me I'll run your beloved Volvo off of the road." She shrieked getting extremely annoyed.

"I would be scared of you actually meant it Alice, but you wouldn't dare." Edward laughed and Alice just growled in response. The continued to race for the rest of the journey, but Alice never got past Edward.

As we slowed and pulled onto a dirt track Edward suddenly growled.

"You told me that you'd sorted it Alice," He said to her in a low voice. I felt extremely confused but he didn't seem to want to divulge.

"I forgot. You'll manage." She replied shortly, sounding like she was concentrating on something. It didn't seem like Alice to forget something.

"What are you hiding Alice?" Edward growled but got no reply.

After a few miles we pulled up in front of some cabins. They were fairly spaced out, with only two being in sight. I presumed there would be four, one for each pair. Before we stepped out of the car, Edward turned to face me.

"I have to apologise now for Alice's _forgetfulness_. In our cabin there is only one bedroom and bathroom between us. Alice _forgot_ to sort it out." He was glaring in Alice's direction.

"It's ok, I'm sure we can manage." I said, wanting him to cheer up and stop being mad at Alice. She and Jasper pulled up in front of the cabin nearest to ours. Edward and I proceeded to take our bags from the car. Well, I tried but Edward refused to let me carry anything.

The inside of the cabins was very spacious like their house. It was furnished with natural colours and it made me feel very much at ease.

As Edward had said, we shared one large bedroom. A king size bed dominated the centre of the room. I idly wondered why he needed a bed but didn't ask. A door to the left showed where Edward had gone. He had taken the cases into a wardrobe which was too big to house clothes for just one weekend.

"Alice?" I asked him. He responded with a look that said _what do you think?_

I walked out of the room and went to explore in peace. There nothing surprising in the house but I found an old rope swing at the back of the house. I walked out and went to sit on it, being sure that Edward wouldn't mind. I checked to see that it would hold my weight before using my feet to swing myself.

After a few minutes Edward came out. He didn't come down to the swing, but stayed on the decking. He leant against a beam, his arms folded across his chest, and a small smile played at his lips as he watched me on the swing.

Uncertainty clouded his face for a second but was replaced with determination as he stepped forward off of the decking.

My view of the handsome creature in front of me was suddenly blocked. Alice had appeared in front of me, facing Edward.

"Emmett and Jasper want to talk with you right now. They're in Em's hut." From what I could see around Alice's petite form, Edward looked like he was going to argue but then just left without a word.

"Right, now that he's gone let's have some fun." I gulped. Alice's idea of fun didn't match mine. For such a little pixie she could invoke great fear in me.

She started off light and painted my nails.

"I would have let you chose the colour, but I've already picked your outfit that you're going to wear after you shower when your nails are dry and this colour goes with the outfit." Alice explained as she started doing the nails on my hands. She had picked a deep navy blue which contrasted greatly against my pale skin.

"I still don't understand why I need to have my nails done Alice. We're going hunting, they'll get chipped easily. It isn't as if we're going to a nightclub or anything where glamour is necessary." I complained again. I had complained several times already but to no avail.

"That's no excuse. You should always look good. You never know what might happen."

"Yeah but you do." I muttered under my breath. Alice just grinned at me.

Once she'd done my hands, finished my toes and given them sufficient time to dry I was allowed to have a shower. Before getting in I put some music on fairly loud in the bedroom to listen to while I was in the shower. Luckily Alice had given me permission to do my own make-up after being given very specific and clear instructions to follow.

The water soothed me as I stood under the jet. I used Alice's concoction of products to make my hair soft and shiny. Finally I tore myself away from the hot water.

I'd forgotten to bring my clothes in with me so I just wrapped a towel around my body. A hairdryer was on the counter; presumably left there by Alice so I dried my hair while I was there. After that I carefully did my make-up exactly the way Alice had described being careful not to do anything that Alice would disapprove of. It would only give hr an excuse to do my make-up next time.

Eventually happy with my appearance, I walked out of the bathroom so see Alice sat on the bed. At the same time Edward appeared in the bedroom. Everything seemed to happen slowly after that.

I squeaked, causing Edward to look at me. His eyes trailed over my body before he looked away with a look of shock adorning his features. Suddenly he disappeared as quickly as he'd come.

I stood silently in shock for a few seconds, embarrassed about what had just happened.

"Get dressed, Bella. I'll be in the other room." Alice said, placing my clothes into my arms. As I looked up at her, it was clear that she has found the whole situation very funny. I glared at her before she left the room.

I looked at what she'd given me. There was some faded black skinny jeans and a navy blue v-neck jumper which matched my nails. One the floor was a pair of brown boots which would go over my jeans.

As I got dressed I thought about Alice's involvement in all of this. There was no way that she could have not known that would happen. Why didn't she stop it? Unless…

Unless she planned for it to happen. I couldn't understand why she would, but I didn't understand most things that the pixie did.

"Alice," I said quietly, after putting my boots on. She appeared at the end of the bed, smiling innocently.

"Yes, Bella." She said sweetly, still smiling. I glared at her for a few seconds before speaking.

"You knew." I accused. She kept up the innocent façade, looking confused. "Don't even pretend now to know what I'm talking about Alice. You knew that Edward would walk in on me. Why didn't you stop it?"

"Some things just shouldn't be stooped be stopped. And you'll thank me later." She shrugged. I knew I wouldn't find out what she meant. Alice seemed to prefer for us to discover our future by ourselves. She liked surprises.

I didn't see what would come of it though. Maybe some awkwardness for a while, but that's it.

"You know, he really likes you." Alice said out of the blue.

"We're fairly good friends, yeah." I replied. We enjoyed each others company. Alice just shook her head looking exasperated.

"You're as bad as each other! I didn't mean as a friend Bella. He likes you more than that. He just won't tell you because he thinks his feelings aren't reciprocated." I was shaking my head throughout most of her speech refusing to believe her and get my hopes up.

"No, he doesn't." I argued, still shaking my head. Alice sighed.

I can see that there's no point in arguing with you Bella. But you need to go and find him now. He's beating himself up over walking in on you in just a towel. He'll only listen to you. Just follow his scent." I nodded and ran out of the house through the back door.

It wasn't long since he'd left so his scent was still clear enough to follow. It didn't take me long to find him. He was sat on a rock at the edge of a large lake facing away from me. I was sure that he knew I was there, but he didn't turn around.

I walked over to him and sat on a nearby rock.

"I'm sorry," he whispered so quietly that if I was human I wouldn't have heard him.

"It doesn't matter." I replied honestly. It wasn't his fault and I wasn't bothered about it.

"No! I should have knocked or something. I forgot that we were sharing. It wasn't right of me to have put you in such an uncomfortable position. It was inappropriate and I apologise so much." Alice was right; he really was beating himself up about this.

"It wasn't your fault. Alice sort of planned it. Let's forget about it." I suggested hopefully. For a few seconds he seemed to consider it. He then turned to face me with a half smile and nodded. I wanted to cheer him up so I thought of a way to do just that. Hopefully.

"What's the water like here?" I asked, looking out at the lake and trying to keep my voice nonchalant.

"It's fairly cool, but clean," he replied, sounding suspicious. I was so glad that he couldn't read my mind at times.

"Alice really won't forgive me for this." I sighed, looking really sad. I turned to look at him, suspicion and confusion burning in his eyes.

Before he had chance to react leapt onto him, pushing him deep into the dark waters. Once we were submerged I turned to grin at him, and, luckily, he grinned back. The grin was shortly replaced with the look of determination which I had briefly seen before Alice turned up. He swam up to me and took my in his arms. I looked up into his topaz eyes as he looked down into mine. Our bodies were as close as they possibly could be and I wondered what he was going to do.

His face came closer to mine making our noses touch, his eyes smouldering now. I felt like I was frozen in place but my face moved forward slightly, wanting the distance between our lips to be closed. The proximity made the electricity between us flow even stronger, begging me to close the gap. I didn't have to.

Edward's lips gently brushed mine, before returning with more force. The electricity peaked and my lips felt hot where his lips had touched them. I placed my hand on the back of Edward's head, entwining my fingers in his bronze locks. The kiss was chaste, but there was a great intensity burning behind it, slowly building.

Our lips began to slow, eventually stopping and allowing me to look up at his face. It was glowing with such joy that it was hard to keep looking. I naturally smiled back at him. That was when I realised that Alice was right.

He felt the same way.

* * *

**So how was it?**

**I wanted to get their relationship moving a bit faster, they were taking too long.**

**Please review and let me know what you think **

**Reviews make me smile =]**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry about the long update, I hope this chapter is worth it. I don't know how long the next chapter will take cos it's probably going to be fairly long and I need to think about it. I'll do my best to be quick though. A big thank you for the great response to the last chapter, it was awesome =]**

* * *

We swam to the surface of the lake and climbed out near the rocks where we'd sat. We didn't say anything to each other, just smiling when our eyes met. We had no need for words.

Slowly we walked back toward the huts, holding hands and dripping wet. Edward led us away from out hut and further down the trail. I started to get nervous about Alice's reaction to my ruining the outfit she had picked.

I saw another hut in front of us and presumed that was out destination as I head movement from inside and a voice.

"She'll be here in 47 seconds," said Alice, her tone laced with menace. I squeaked nervously and cringed towards Edward. He squeezed my hand.

"Relax, she won't bite." He chuckled.

As Alice said, we were walking through the door exactly 47 seconds later. I hid behind Edward as we entered the huge main room. I heard Emmett chortling, probably at my expense.

"Move, Edward," ordered the pixie. Edward folded his arms across his chest, not moving. I gripped his shirt silently begging him to stay there.

"Emmett, Jasper," said the pixie. All of a sudden, Emmett and Jasper were at either side of Edward, grabbing his arms and dragging him away from me. Edward tried to struggle but it was futile. Their combined strength was far too great.

I was left alone to face the angry vampire in front of me. She glared wordlessly at me, eyeing my appearance. I waited for her to explode. It only took a few seconds.

"You couldn't just be like normal people! No, you had to go and jump into the lake and get all of your clothes completely drenched. There is no way that you can save those boots now and that top is _cashmere_! And your nails that I spent ages doing are all chipped. Is it so hard to kiss him on land? Why did you have to jump him and go into the lake to do so?" Alice ranted and finished with a pout. I wanted to laugh but something told me that it wouldn't be the best idea at that moment in time. Probably my survival instinct.

"You kissed him?" Shrieked Rosalie from the corner of the room. I hadn't noticed her there. She had leapt up and was looking murderous. Edward shook Jasper and Emmett off of him and came to stand by me defensively.

"Rosalie, for once just accept that everything isn't always about you." Edward snapped at her, meeting her glare with his own. Edward had a unique insight into the reasons behind her anger towards me so I wanted to talk to him to know what I'd done wrong.

Rosalie gave me one last glare before storming off out of the hut and into the forest. I expected Emmett to follow her but he just sat down next to Jasper on the settee. I asked him why.

"Sure, angry sex is great but she's angry most of the time at the moment. I never learn what's wrong, so I'm going to let her calm down so I can talk to her without her leaping on me." He explained. Maybe a bit too much information but it was understandable.

Edward took my hand and led me to the settee and I sat between Alice and him. Carlisle and Esme would join us in half an hour and then we would go hunting. The plan was to hunt for most of Saturday. Then the rest of the time would be spent doing what we wanted before packing up and leaving Sunday noon.

Meanwhile we watched the news on the TV. There wasn't much interesting though. A few murders in Olympia and a new breakthrough in the research for the treatment of some disease.

Eventually Carlisle and Esme arrived and we all headed out into the forest. Emmett left us to go and find Rosalie.

We ran for about 10 minutes to reach the general area where the Cullens usually hunted. Once there we all paired off and went to hunt. Starting off easy, Edward and I found a herd of elk and drained a couple each.

"Fancy something a bit feistier?" Edward asked, winking. Presuming he was talking about prey and glad that I couldn't blush, I mumbled a confirmation in response.

Edward then led us towards a new smell which I didn't recognise. It was similar to the mountain lion but slightly more woodsy. It still smelt better than the elk.

When the scent was at its strongest we slowed to a halt behind some bushes. In front of us stood a huge brown bear. It seemed to have sensed our presence and was looking around searching for danger. It looked like Edward was going to jump at it, all coiled like a spring. I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Mine," I whispered, before leaping at the bear. Before I could reach it though, Edward's arms wrapped around my body, pulling me to the ground with a huge crash which resounded in the trees.

"Wanna bet?" He asked, not letting me go. No matter how much I struggled I couldn't get free. By then the bear had run of, started by the loud noise and the sight of us. As soon as Edward loosened his grip I leapt away from him and followed the scent of the bear. This time he allowed me to catch is and drink from it.

Once I'd finished with the bear, I dropped it onto the forest floor. I brought my hand up to my mouth to wipe the remaining blood off of my lips and chin. My wrist was suddenly grabbed my Edward, who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

He brought his face to mine and then used his tongue to lick up a drop of blood on my chin, tracing it all the way up to my lips. He licked my lips clean of any blood which was still there before pushing his lips against mine.

A fire crackled under my skin as I returned the kiss with passion. This kiss wasn't like the first we had shared. It wasn't chaste and sweet. It was passionate and exciting and he ran his tongue over my bottom lip begging for permission. I granted it and my tongue met his making the fire burn ferociously.

Edward pulled me towards him and I buried my hand in his hair, gently gripping it. I moaned slightly into his mouth. Edward then pushed me against a tree behind me pinning me with his body, allowing me to feel every contour of it.

He suddenly broke the kiss with a groan.

"Let's go before I do something I'll regret later." He breathed. I looked up into his hooded eyes, now black with lust. His hair was even more messed up from when I had gripped it. I nodded and we ran off together to carry on hunting.

"I'm curious. How long have you felt this way?" Edward asked me whilst stroking my hair gently.

I lifted my head from his chest and looked into his eyes to answer. When we had returned from hunting, we had collapsed onto his huge bed and laid next to each other. Any previous doubts over the bed's necessity had now vanished from my mind as we cuddled.

"I'm not sure. Possibly from when we were playing the piano." I answered, thinking back to the first time I'd felt the electricity between us. "What about you?" I asked him. He thought for a few seconds before replying.

"I only actually realised that I felt this way when we went on the walk after the incident in PE. I really wanted to kiss you then. Every time after that when I tried to kiss you or let you know how I felt something happened. Like Alice."

I tried not to let the pain of thinking about the happy Jacob from that PE lesson show. Luckily Edward seemed to hold me together fairly well. He carried on speaking his thoughts.

"I can't explain what I feel for you. It's something I've never felt before. I've read it from the other's mind, but it isn't the same as feeling it. I can understand how certain foods taste to humans from reading their minds, but I can't taste them. I only know if they are sweet or sour or salty and such. I've lived for 108 years, yet this side of emotions is so new and foreign to me.

"I find it hard to believe that it is so new to you. Has no one ever shown you any interest?" I asked. He looked down avoiding me gaze.

"Well… There was one vampire who showed a little interest in me. However I did not return that interest and I kindly told her so." I felt a twang of jealously, but also fear. I had a rival for Edward's heart.

"Who?" I asked, wanting to put a name to the face though I probably wouldn't know her.

"Tanya," he said quietly. I was in shock. My rival was the leader of the Denali clan, whom I had imagined as an immensely beautiful and powerful figure. Completely the opposite to me. In my silence he tried to reassure me.

"I definitely prefer you though. I don't like strawberry blondes. Brunettes are more my type." I now had a hair colour to add to my image. I smiled up at him, slightly appeased. Noting that my smile wasn't 100% there, Edward brought his lips to mine.

That was how we spent the next few hours. On his bed kissing sweetly and enjoying each other's company.

Eventually dawn came, and with it Emmett. As the sun came up he appeared in the bedroom breaking us up from out making out.

"Could've knocked," muttered Edward under his breath, but Emmett wasn't fazed.

"Bella, Jasper and I want you to come and wrestle with us. Rosalie won't get her hair messed up, Alice is packing, and this guy cheats," Emmett said, gesturing toward Edward, who just rolled his eyes. I was reluctant to leave Edward but Emmett picked me up carried me out of the hut fireman style.

I did actually have fun with them until Alice told us we had to leave. I ran back to the hut and packed up all of my belongings.

I was sad to leave, but also happy to get home. Edward put my suitcase into the Volvo and we started our journey home.

"Do you want to stay at mine for a bit?" I offered Edward. I didn't want to be apart from him, but nor did I want to intrude on his family.

"That sounds great," he said, taking my hand. We didn't talk much for the rest of the drive, occasionally commenting on something we'd seen out of the window.

Soon enough we'd arrived in Forks and we were nearing my house. Suddenly Edward slammed on the brakes and looked furious. He did a 3 point turn and sped back up the road away from my house.

"Edward what is it?" I asked, very worried.

"Jacob," he snarled. I was stunned and confused.

"Stop the car!" I ordered, wanting to clear everything up without speeding way over the limit away from my house. We he didn't stop I shouted "Now!"

He slammed on the brakes for the second time and glared out of the window, not turning to look at me.

"What does he want?" I asked, Jacob wasn't allowed to contact me in any way so I was extremely baffled.

"He wants to talk to you," Edward said without any emotion in his voice. I was puzzled by his sudden hostility.

"But he can't," I objected. Edward still wasn't looking at me.

"Why don't you go and ask _him_ then." He suggested, again lacking in emotion.

"Won't you come?" I asked, already saddened by what I'd know his answer would be.

"No," he said simply.

"I have to see what the matter is," I said, "It has to be something important if he can actually _talk_ to me.

"Well go to the dog then. He's waiting," Edward replied, leaning over me to open to door. I felt so guilty but I just had to go. I tried to take his hand in mine, but he just pulled it away from me.

"I'm sorry," I said before stepping out of the car. As soon as I closed the door Edward sped off. It pissed me off that I couldn't have one without the other. I thought Edward and I had sorted everything out but obviously nothing had changed.

I thought about all this as I walked towards my house. When it came into sight, I saw Jacob sat on my step. I took a deep breath before walking towards him.

* * *

**So what dya think? Good? Bad? Worth the wait? Let me know please, you're reviews are really important to me. I need to know what you guys are thinking so please review**

**XxX**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hope you like it =] Thanks again for the great response i've been getting. You guys are great!**

* * *

Jacob was sat on my doorstep topless and muddy. He had bags under his eyes suggesting that he was very tired.

His eyes met mine and he stood up as I approached. I also noticed that he wasn't wearing any shoes and his sweatpants were a bit torn up.

"Bella," he whispered, looking relieved. My eyes widened as I heard his voice. What had changed?

"Jacob! H-how can you…talk to me?" I stuttered in shock. I stopped about a metre in front of him.

Can we talk inside please? It's a long story." He asked, his eyes pleading. I nodded and walked to the house with Jacob following me. Once I'd unlocked the door I let Jacob into the main room and sat down on the new settee.

Jacob eyed the room speculatively before joining me on the settee, keeping a distance between us. We were silent for a few minutes so I prompted him.

"So, what's this story of yours?" I asked quietly. A strange expression flashed across his face, a mixture of anger and pain, before he regained his controlled mask.

"It happened on Saturday night. The whole pack was out. I don't think I ever told you about the pack mind link, did I?" I shook my head. "When we're in wolf form we can hear each others thoughts. Everything everyone is thinking. It's useful but annoying at the same time.

_Flashback_

_(JacobPOV) Italics = Thoughts_

I was walking through the forest thinking about Bella and not being able to speak to her. Sam could sense the anger in my thoughts and it annoyed him, but he said nothing at first. I was already annoyed at Sam, so I couldn't resist bugging him some more.

I knew that thinking of ways to get around his orders would piss him off to no end. I couldn't think of anything but it worked. He told me to stop.

_Are you going to control my thoughts as well, Sam?_ I asked him. He growled as a reply.

By this point, we were heading to a clearing as we'd nearly finished our patrol for the night. Sam said nothing until we were face to face in the clearing.

_You know I only gave you those orders for the sake of the pack,_ he told me. I didn't have to voice my thoughts. He knew my argument against it. _This is not the time for your defiance Jacob Black. You must focus when we're patrolling. I'm going to talk to Billy to get him to change your schedule at school so you are not in any lessons with her._

My temper snapped as he took yet another step to keep me away from Bella. It was Sam controlling me yet again.

I lunged at him and took him by surprise. My teeth sank into his flank and he yelped in shock.

Sam shook me off and faced me snarling. The rest of the pack was also growling at me, standing in formation behind Sam.

I knew I had no chance of winning so I backed off a few metres before turning and running. I reached my top speed in no time.

_Stop! _Came the Alpha's command. The ferocity in the double-timbre order made my knees buckle from underneath me and I crashed into the undergrowth, sliding several metres in the mud due to the speed at which I was running.

I wanted to stand up and carry on running but it felt as though steel cables were tying my body to the damp vegetation. I heard the rest of the pack approach and surround me. I kept my eyes closed, ashamed and angry to be in such a submissive position in front of everyone and not be able to do anything about it.

The babble of thoughts was easy to ignore as I tried to focus on Sam's. His words were more important than anyone else in the pack.

I found absolute silence. His mind was blank. I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me emptily. I'd rather have his anger than this. I tried to cringe away from his gaze but the order which Sam had given me was still in effect and I couldn't move.

It began to rain heavily. There wasn't much cover from the trees so the drops came and quickly drenched us as we waited for Sam to do something. No one dared to say anything to him directly.

I sensed reluctance to be here from someone just before Leah snapped at them.

_If you don't want to stay then go,_ I wasn't interested in this exchange. I was more focused on Sam.

When around ten minutes had passed I sensed a change in Sam. I opened my eyes. He was stood up straight, his chest sticking out, maintaining a look of dignity even dripping wet. The emptiness was replaced assurance. He spoke.

_You are to obey every order I give you from now on. You are to do so without question._

Sam paused as I tried to lift my head. I was still held down but I fought it. I managed to lift my head about an inch from the ground.

_Jake, don't fight it man. _Urged Jared. The rest of the pack murmured their agreement but I held my head there.

_Sam, can't you just…_Said Seth, but he was cut off from growls all around us. One sharp bark from Sam shut them all up.

_You're still resisting Jacob. Stop! _I felt the restrictions from the order pulling me down harder but I willed myself to keep my head up. Sam snarled.

_Don't you care about our families? It's our job to protect them, but you are failing them by defying me. The pack needs a leader as we can't all just do what we want. You are failing your father. _I pulled hard and brought myself into a sitting position. The pack stared in shock.

_Get back down, _ordered Sam. I realised then that I had a choice. I didn't have to be ordered around and have my free will taken away from me.

I felt all the restrictions fall away from my limbs and I stood up and shook my coat out. The sudden silence in my head was strange but I ignored it for now.

I stood in front of Sam and said very clearly to him.

_No._

Then, I ran.

_End Flashback_

I sat silently in shock for several minutes, going over everything in my mind. The pack was a lot more complex than I'd imagined. A lot more organised too.

"Why could _you_ break free? I mean, the rest of the pack couldn't do that, could they?" I asked, wondering what made him special.

"No. I was meant to be the alpha for the pack, but I didn't want to so Sam became it." After another minute or so, Jacob spoke again.

"I'm sorry for just turning up here, I just felt like explaining it all to you. I'll go now. I don't want to intrude."

"No! You can't leave. The weather's awful, and where will you go? You probably won't be welcome in La Push anymore." I said, not wanting him to be homeless.

"I can sleep in wolf form outside somewhere. I'll be fine." He pushed his shoulders back and stood straight as if my comments had insulted his pride.

"And what about your clothes? And money? Stay here whilst you sort out some other arrangements." I suggested. He didn't look as if he was going to agree as he thought it over, but eventually his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"The shower is upstairs in the bathroom along with the towels and the guest bedroom is the last bedroom on the right. If you want food there is some in the kitchen." Alice and Esme had done everything to help me keep the human façade. I would have offered to cook for him but I couldn't guarantee not to poison him by accident.

As Jacob trudged upstairs I picked up the phone and dialled Edward's number. There was no answer so I rang the house phone. Carlisle picked it up on the first ring.

I explained everything that Jacob had told me and he listened carefully. After thanking me we both hung up.

I tried Edward's phone but there was still no answer. I knew he was annoyed but would he go so far as to give me the silent treatment?

Whilst I was thinking about this, Jacob came back down clean but still wearing his ripped sweatpants.

"I'll sort out some clothes for you for tomorrow." He looked like he was going to argue but I cut him off. "I have nothing else to do tonight, so don't argue. I'm heading out so get some sleep and I'll walk you up tomorrow morning."

I walked out of the house and climbed into my car. I had no male clothes so I would have to drive to Port Angeles. Being too much of a coward, I wouldn't go to the Cullens to ask them for some due to the risk of seeing Edward, as I was fairly sure that he was still rather annoyed at me.

I focused on the road while driving, trying not to think too much. Jacob had spoken for a while so it was getting late. Luckily I found a shop which was still open. I grabbed a plain black t-shirt, some jeans which looked about his size and two different sizes of shoes, hoping one would fit.

Quickly paying, I got back into my car and drove back. By the time I had reached the Forks boundary it was almost pitch black, the road only illuminated slightly by the moon. It didn't affect my sight but the glow of the moon made everything look different.

My house was silent apart from the huge snores coming form the spare bedroom. I quietly went up to his room and placed the clothes outside his door.

I couldn't be bothered doing anything, so I went to my room and lay on my bed. To anyone else is made look like I was sleeping, but I wasn't. I was thinking deeply about the past weekend.

Over the next few hours I cam up with some conclusions:

I needed to speak to Edward.

Jacob needed to go to La Push.

And with Edward and Jacob, I couldn't have one along with the other.

Once 8 o'clock rolled around, I got up and headed to wake Jake up. He was sprawled across the double bed which had been stripped of its sheets and pillow.

"Jake," I said. No response. "Jacob!" I spoke louder this time, but to no avail.

"Jacob Black!" In answer he snored loudly. I walked to the en suite bathroom and picked up a glass and filled it with cold water.

I walked back into the bedroom and threw the water onto his bare chest. It worked.

Jake leapt up and off of the bed, looking extremely shocked.

"Your clothes are by the door. You need to go to La Push today and talk to your dad. Everyone else should be at school, and as long as you keep in the public eye it should be safe. You can take my car." He nodded and I walked out of his room to get ready for school. By 8.30 I was leaving the house, shouting goodbye to Jake.

I wanted to speak to Edward before school started so I ran through the trees most of the way there.

I had ten minutes until the first lesson and the Volvo wasn't here yet. I waited and waited and it wasn't until one minute before the bell that the car arrived.

They all got out and walked to the school without glancing my way, except for Alice. She mouthed _English_ at me.

I felt like everything was a lot worse than I'd thought and that my action had held a lot more significance than I'd first believed. I had thought that we could just talk and sort it out, but if his whole family was ignoring me then maybe my actions insulted more than just Edward.

English couldn't come quick enough.

* * *

**Bit of a short one, so sorry. Just so no one gets confused, Jacob didn't break away from the pack for Bella. Bella was simply the catalyst for what he did, he did it because he didn't like having his free will taken away.**

**Please review and let me know how it was. I'm not sure how well the JacobPOV was so please tell me. **

**XxX**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry for the slow update. It wasn't an easy chapter to write**

* * *

Spanish flew by as I paid no attention to what the teacher was saying. I was thinking about how to deal with the current situation, but coming up blank. I didn't know _what_ I had to deal with. I had Edward in my next two lessons, biology and PE, and I wasn't sure what to do.

Should I go in blind and try to talk to him and find out what was wrong, or wait for Alice to tell me and approach him in chemistry when I was more sure about how deal with it.

Not wanting a confrontation or to say anything stupid I went with the latter and decided not to say anything to him. It would be hard to do that whilst sitting next to him, but I had to try. PE wouldn't be too bad as I could pair up with someone else and Alice would be there.

As the bell went I stood up and walked quickly out of the room. I headed hastily to the biology room, hoping to be there before him.

Luck was on my side and I entered an empty classroom. I took my seat and got my books out. I then laid my head down on the desk in the hope that no one would approach me.

"Hey Bella. Rough weekend?" I nearly growled but managed to remain silent. Some people couldn't take hints. Lifting my head, I saw the grinning face of Mike Newton.

"Something like that," I muttered and closed my eyes.

"Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the spring dance with me." I groaned internally. Then I remembered that I'd asked Edward to go with me. I guessed that it wasn't going to happen now.

"I don't know if I'm going, Mike." I answered as Edward walked in. His eyes briefly flicked to mine as I said that, but he quickly averted his gaze.

Just then, Banner walked in so Mike had to go and take his seat. Luckily we weren't doing any pair work so there would be no awkward interactions between Edward and I. However the silence was ominous as the rest of the class chatted about their weekends and other mundane things. I wanted to break it, but I knew that it probably wouldn't be the best idea.

As the lesson dragged on I grew more and more anxious to leave the room. I hated this distance and wanted to escape from it.

Finally the bell went and I darted out of my seat, like Edward had the first time we'd had biology together.

I met Alice in the changing rooms and she offered me a small smile. I returned it, but it felt more like a grimace.

"We'll talk next lesson, don't worry. We'll have more time then. Don't worry. I'll be your partner this lesson, we're playing volleyball again." I was relieved at her offer.

We walked out into the gym together, and we were suddenly assaulted by the angry glares from all of the Quileutes who were in the lesson. I took Alice's hand and she squeezed mine in comfort. I was surprised that I hadn't run into any of them already. I wanted to make sure I was always with another vampire for the rest of the day, in fear of being attacked. I knew the treaty was still in place, but I was still worried.

The lesson simply involved learning passing techniques and such. Very boring. I could still feel the glares from the wolves, but I tried to ignore it. I knew I wasn't to blame, but it still made me feel slightly guilty.

Eventually dinner came and I went out to the fields to sit there. I didn't want to sit in the canteen on my own with Rosalie glaring at me and have to endure Edward's indifference towards me.

I watched some of the guys playing football whilst counting down the minutes until dinner ended. I wanted to go and listen to some music in my car, but Jacob had it. This meant I was restless and had nothing to do. Normally being a vampire meant that I didn't get restless, but I was nervous about English and wanted something to occupy my mind.

I took to watching the human guys playing football and laughing at their immature banter. Then again, Emmett would probably be as bad. I then listened to the forest, the scurrying on the little rodents and the flapping of the bird as they took off from their nests in the trees.

Before I knew it dinner was ended and it time for me to go to English.

I walked through the door and took my seat next to Alice, who had already arrived. I was thankful that she didn't beat around the bush.

"He feels betrayed. He thinks that by choosing the wolf over him that you care more about the wolf. It hurt him after what you two had shared that weekend. He really cares about you and he thought you felt the same way." There was an accusation and a question in her last sentence.

"I do feel the same way. It's just I also care about Jacob and I had to see what the matter was. He knew that I held no grudges against the wolves and that I'd treat them the same as I would with any member of your family. It Jacob wasn't a werewolf then he wouldn't have reacted the same."

"No, he wouldn't," She agreed. "But you have to be able to see where he is coming from. He hasn't felt this way about anyone, ever. You mean a lot to him. I know in your mind you weren't choosing anyone but he is a guy. He doesn't understand. You have to talk to him. Explain it all to him and try to get him to understand." I nodded while I took in everything that she had said.

Obviously Edward had talked to her about how he felt. Hopefully he would open up to me too, if I could get him to talk to me in the first place.

I continued to think about ways to start a conversation with him, for us to sort things out. I wasn't sure whether or not he would talk to me, if that was the case then I wasn't sure what I'd do. I could write him a letter or something, but there was no guarantee that he would read it.

When the lesson ended I walked slowly towards the chemistry room, dreading what the outcome of this lesson might be.

Edward was already sat down and he didn't glance up and I walked to the desk and took my seat next to him.

"Edward." I said quietly, but he gave to notion to suggest that he had heard me. He was completely ignoring me, and it hurt more than actually verbally abusing me would have. I didn't want to push him to respond, so I gave him an option to find out why I did what I did.

"If you want me to explain my actions and to learn my reasoning then come to the meadow some time tonight. I'll be there. It's up to you." I didn't want to stay any longer in that room with Edward ignoring me, so I excused myself, claiming I felt Ill. I went to the office and they let me go home.

When I reached my house I found my car sitting in the drive. Obviously Jacob had been and gone to La Push.

I walked inside and found him watching the television. He smiled at me as I walked in.

"You're back early." He said. I just shrugged, avoiding the subject.

"How did it go today in La Push?" I asked him. He didn't seem sad or upset so things couldn't have gone too bad.

"I talked to my dad and he seemed to understand. He wasn't mad or angry at me. He offered to put me up temporarily with a flat here in Forks as it probably wouldn't be the best idea for me to stay around La Push at the moment. Sam's pretty pissed. I'm also going to get a job at Forks Diner to pay for the flat, cos I can't rely on my dad to pay teh rent for ages."

"When are you moving out then?" I asked, hoping that I didn't sound as if I wanted to get rid of him.

"It should be ready for Wednesday if all goes well. It's only a small place but it has everything I need, and the job will pay the rent."

"Well you can use my car again to get all of your stuff to the flat on Wednesday. It will make it easier for you." He thanked me and we fell into a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes a knock at the door interrupted the peace. I wondered who would be calling, as no one I knew actually knew where I lived. Well, except the Cullens, but they were unlikely to be coming here at the moment.

I answered the door, and in front of me towered a huge Quileute. I tensed and became defensive instantly, remembering their glares from PE.

"Woah, take it easy!" He said, holding his hands up and taking a few steps backwards. "I'm not here to attack you. I want to talk to Jake." I sensed Jake approaching behind me, and I shifted out of my defensive position to let him see our visitor.

"What the hell are you doing here, Seth?" I was taken aback by his hostile greeting, but the other guy, Seth, seemed unbothered by it.

"I'm moving in with you when you get your flat. I don't agree with what they did to you, so I left them." He said, shrugging.

"The hell you are! Get your ass back to Sam in La Push!" Jake all but shouted. I was tempted to ask them to take this outside, but Jake seemed in control. Seth was just really calm.

"I talked to your dad, and he said I might as well find you. The rest of the pack won't want me there when they find out what happened. Plus it will be fun," Seth grinned widely at Jake, who narrowed his eyes. I wanted to laugh but I thought it would be a bad time. "Can I stay here until we move, Bella. I don't mean to intrude, but I have nowhere to go."

"No problem. You'll have to have the settee though. I would offer you my room, but it probably wouldn't smell nice to you."

"Thanks. So what do you say, Jake? Roommates?"

"No! Go back to your mum and Leah! Leah is going to kick my ass when she finds out that you're here. You know what she is like." Seth was about to retaliate when I interrupted.

"I'm going to go and get ready. I'll let you two argue this out between you." I told them, wanting to get changed and get ready for tonight.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked.

"I'm meeting Edward to try and explain everything. He isn't happy with this situation." I explained.

"Sorry," Jake said, looking sheepish. I went upstairs and their argument continued.

It actually continued for the whole hour that I was getting ready, after having a shower, drying my hair, doing my make-up and choosing an outfit. By the time I was ready, it was nearing five. I planned on getting to the meadow fairly early and to wait to see if he turned up at all. I prayed that he would.

When I got downstairs it was silent. A pleasant change. A found Seth grinning and Jake sulking. I presumed that Seth had won the argument and would be living with Jake.

"I'm going, seeya." I said, before leaving the house. I planned on taking my car to the trail as we had done before.

Within twenty minutes I had reached the meadow. I went and sat in the middle of it and waited. I watched the sunset in all its glory. Yellows, oranges and reds burning together before leaving the sky pitch black. To pass the time I counted how many stars I could see, with the sky being very clear where I was. Being far away from civilisation and cities meant there was less pollution.

It grew darker and darker but there was no sign of him. When there were no more stars to count, I tried to see pictures in them. When I was sure that hours had passed and that it was nearly midnight, I was ready to give up. I was about to stand up when he appeared walking slowly towards me from the forest.

He wasn't looking at me as he walked, his hair blowing gently in the slight breeze. He sat down a few metres from me and looked up towards the sky.

"I wasn't picking him over you," I said as I played with some grass in my hands. "It wasn't like that. Something was wrong with Jake and I had to see what it was. It would have been the same for any other friend I may have had."

"But he isn't like other humans." He replied softly, his voice like music.

"But I told you before; it doesn't matter to me that he is a werewolf. I still see him as another guy. I don't see why I have to hate him. You wouldn't have reacted this way if it was anyone else. I'm sorry if it hurt you, but I can't hate him for what he is. It isn't right." He sat silently for a few seconds.

"They hate us for what we are."

"Then this is just a hatred based on you blaming each other. You hate them because they hate you and they hate you because you hate them. Two wrongs don't make a right. I don't want this to get between us."

"It already has evidently."

"It doesn't have to though. This is something that I believe, and I know that you don't agree with me, but I can accept that. Please, just accept what I believe, you don't have to believe it, but just accept that _I_ do."

"I can accept what you believe. But you _did_ choose him over me. You walking out of my car and leaving me is clearly evidence of it." I growled in frustration and stood up to walk around.

"It wasn't like that. If it was Angela, Jess or any other student from Forks High you would have let me go and wouldn't have bothered. But because of your preconceived notions and hatred of the wolves you didn't react that way, and now we are both here. Jake is moving out on Wednesday, he isn't staying there permanently. He only actually planned to stay there to tell me what had happened; probably because I was the only one he could trust not to attack him."

"If he had planned on leaving, then why is he still there?" Oh shit, I hadn't hoped he would notice that.

"I offered for him to stay until he sorted himself out. I couldn't have him staying outside on the wet floor in the cold. It wouldn't be fair. "

"Very caring," Edward muttered. I got the feeling that there was more than just anger in this. Was he jealous? Surely he knew better than to think that I liked Jake as more than a friend.

"It isn't as if I have feelings for him or anything like that. I care for him as a friend."

"You don't _like_ him?" He asked, uncertainty clouding his voice. I had hoped that after a century in this world he would have been able to notice that, but apparently not.

"No Edward, I don't. I like you, and only you." I assured him, walking over to him and taking his hand in mine. He seemed relieved at this knowledge.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted a little. I'm still not happy with the living arrangements though. And I can't see him as anything but an enemy. I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Thanks for trying." I whispered and leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and we sat there for a while. He ran his hands gently through my hair and rubbed circles on my lower back. It felt so good to be close to him again.

"I still want to go to the dance with you," He murmured into my hair. I hadn't realised how upset I was over the thought that we wouldn't be going until that moment, when I was overcome with happiness. I held him tighter to me to express my thanks. I dreaded facing Alice, but hopefully it would be worth it.

Eventually we decided to move and head to our respective homes. He had brought his Volvo and it was parked next to my car. I followed him back to Forks, before he turned off of the road to his mansion. When I got back, the two guys were fast asleep, so I settled down for the night with some good books and homework.

* * *

**Please review and let me know if ya liked it. Next chapter should be the dance, so some nice fluff.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I got this one up quickly coz I'm going on holiday for a week soon and won't be able to update for a while. I didn't get as many reviews for the last chapter, so did you guys not like it? Please let me know, cos if you didn't like it I need to know how I can improve to make it better.**

**So please review this chapter and let me know what it's like. Thanks to the people who did review, you made me smile.**

* * *

I drove to school on Tuesday. Seth and Jake were staying off of school until next week so they could get settled in at their new place. I was dreading English first thing as Alice would no doubt be talking about the dance non stop.

I was right. When I walked into the class she was there bouncing in her seat.

"I can't wait for the dance! You'll let me sort out your dress and everything won't you?" She asked, using her puppy dog eyes.

"You already know I will Alice, you don't need to ask."

"Esme says it is still polite to ask. So I've been looking around for dresses, and I know your size so it won't be a problem sorting it out. I've seen a really nice dark blue dress that I think you will look amazing in." I nodded along and she talked about all of the different things she had in mind to do to me.

Apparently I was to go to their house immediately after school on Friday so Alice could commence with her torture as soon as possible.

The next lesson was fairly boring, as Jake wasn't there. I was sat on my own at the back of the class, so I mainly doodled, having already covered the topic back in Phoenix.

When I walked out of the class, Edward was there waiting.

"Hey, do you want to come with me for this free period? I'm just going to listen to some music in my car. You don't have to come, but if you'd like it would be nice to have some company." He gave me a crooked grin that made my knees feel weak.

"Sure," I said before following him out to the car park. We climbed into his car and he put some relaxing piano music on.

"Has Alice managed to catch you yet?" He chuckled. I grimaced at the thought of Friday. I just needed to keep telling myself _it will be worth it_ over and over again in my head.

"Yeah. Half of the things she is planning on doing to me sound like torture techniques." We both laughed. "Is she not trying to dress you up?"

"She is just giving me my suit. Alice finds girls more fun to dress up."

"Are we driving from your house to the school then?" I asked, wondering how we would be getting there.

"Yeah, we will do." He replied. After that we stopped talking and just enjoyed the music which was filling the car. It was very relaxing and peaceful. I closed my eyes and leant my head back. I felt Edward's hand take mine from by my side and he gently ran his thumb over the back of my hand.

The free period passed way too quickly, and before we knew it, the bell for dinner had sounded.

Edward insisted that I sit with the family, and that they weren't all annoyed with me, and that they were only ignoring me because Edward had insisted that they do so.

We walked into the canteen together and sat at his usually table. The rest of the family were already sat there and they had stopped talking when we had first walked through the doors. We all sat in silence awkwardly until Emmett decided he didn't like the tension.

"Interspecies relationships aren't your thing then, Bella?" I hit him across the head and everybody else laughed. After that we talked amongst ourselves comfortably.

I only had one lesson left that day, as I had a free last. It passed quickly and I was soon driving home.

When I got home I found Jake and Seth both playing on one of the games consoles that Esme and Alice had bought for the house.

"Glad to see you two did something productive with your day." I muttered sarcastically as I walked upstairs to put my bag in my room. I hadn't received any homework today so I had a free evening.

I walked downstairs and Jake told me that they were planning on going to Sue's, Seth's mum, for tea as Sue wanted to talk to Seth about his plans. They had been promised that the pack wouldn't do anything whilst they were there and Seth's sister, Leah, would be out. Jacob seemed relieved at that as apparently Leah was rather overprotective.

They left soon after that conversation and I was left alone. I decided to practice some dancing in the back garden as I hadn't done in a while. I put some music on in the house and went outside for a few hours, until it began to rain.

I then proceeded to wash the dishes left by the boys and just generally tidy the house. Once that was done I grabbed one of my torn up books and read that for the night.

Jake and Seth returned later on, explaining that Sue was happy with the arrangements and had even given them some money to get going.

Eventually they both went to bed and I went up to my room to carry on reading my book.

Once morning came I took a shower and got dressed. By this time both of the guys had woken up and were eating breakfast. I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs. I chucked the keys of my car to Jake.

"Take care of it." I warned. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Again I was shocked that anyone would be knocking as I went to answer it.

To my surprise, Edward stood in the doorway.

"Alice saw that you wouldn't have your car today, so I'm here to offer you a lift." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, thanks. Let me go and get my bag." I ran inside and said goodbye to the guys before leaving the house. We got into his Volvo and drove to school. He was listening to the same cd as yesterday.

The day passed fairly quickly and I soon found myself being dropped off by Edward after school. My car was in the drive, and I walked into the house to find a huge bouquet of flowers with a note.

_These are just to thank you for putting up with us both._ _Sorry we can't be here to give them to you personally but something came up. _

_Thanks_

That was so sweet of them. I smelt the flowers before placing on a table by the settee. I wondered what had come up which had meant they had to leave, but I was sure they would be fine. I would see them at school next week anyway.

I wanted to go hunting that night, as my throat was slightly uncomfortable. I was still getting used to the Cullen diet so it didn't take long for my thirst to return. I got changed into some older clothes before heading out into the forest behind my house.

I arrived back late, having taken my time getting back, and decided to some homework from that day.

After that I went around the house, washing the sheets from the guys and tidying and cleaning generally. I was very thorough and took my time, so by the time I had finished it was nearly morning. The sun was just rising as I went to get a shower before I had to set off for school.

Once I was ready I walked out of the door and climbed into my car.

It was already here. How had it come around so quickly? I was hoping for more time to prepare myself mentally for this. But no.

The evil pixie stood in front of me, rubbing her hands together and grinning gleefully. Yesterday and today seemed to have melted into one as I failed to remember where all the time had gone.

All the rest of the family had disappeared and abandoned me to my torture.

"Into the shower. You know the routine. All the products in order and follow the instructions."

I did everything she asked and once I was out she dried, pulled, curled, twisted and sprayed my hair until it was apparently perfect. I didn't want to look in a mirror until the end so I had to trust Alice.

She hadn't shown me my dress yet, but insisted that I would like it.

"I've already seen it. And Edward will adore it. The colour goes nicely with your skin."

Once my hair was done, she started on makeup. She did my nails in the same colour as last time.

"Do _not_ chip them this time. Luckily there is no water near the school which you can happen to jump in so we are safe from that happening again. Then again with you anything is possible." She muttered the last bit under her breath while scowling.

It took half an hour do get my makeup done. I wondered why it took so long, especially with vampire speed, but Alice was a perfectionist. Each side had to be exactly the same and every nail had to be perfectly smooth.

Finally we were ready for the dress. She told me to close my eyes while she took it from her wardrobe. I didn't understand why such theatrics were necessary for a simple dress but I went along with her to make her happy.

"Ok, open them," She said excitedly.

The dress was amazing. It was a dark blue dress which went over one shoulder. The material was gathered at the shoulder and it had a shimmery effect as the light hit it. I was speechless. It was perfect.

I took my bathrobe off, leaving me in just my underwear. I had gotten over my modesty around Alice and didn't feel uncomfortable.

Alice unzipped the dress and carefully put it over my head. Apparently I was incapable of dressing myself. She quickly zipped it up and sat me down on the bed. I was handed some shoes with deadly looking heels. Thank goodness for vampire grace. I finished my look off with the shoes and Alice went to go and get a mirror.

I heard her come behind me.

"Turn around Bella." She said. I did and was amazed at what I saw.

My hair had been teased into loose curls and half was pulled to the back of my head. My make-up was slightly smoky and mysterious. My dress fitted in all the right places and made my figure look amazing. I was astonished at what Alice had managed to do. Without giving her chance to react and leapt at her and hugged her. Somehow she managed to keep hold of the mirror and hug me back.

"Thank you so much Alice. It's perfect." I whispered.

"Ok, now stay in this room and don't touch any part of you while I get changed. Stay still." She ordered. Alice had already done her hair and makeup before I had arrived so she hadn't much to do.

Two minutes later she appeared in a little black dress which had virtually no back. She was stunning.

"Come on, let's go and find the guys." Alice chirped, taking my hand and leading me out of the room and down the stairs.

We were met by Jasper and Edward, who were staring at us in wonder. It gave me a confidence boost.

Alice bounced over to Jasper and I walked slowly over to Edward. He looked incredibly handsome in a well-cut suit and a tie which matched my dress perfectly. He gave me a crooked smile and offered me his hand.

"You look simply beautiful Bella." He whispered as I took his hand. "Shall we go?"

I nodded not trusting my voice. We walked together through the front door to find two cars parked outside. I was used to seeing the yellow Porsche but the other car took me by surprise.

It was a black, shiny, sleek Aston Martin Vanquish. It was stunning. Edward led me to the car and opened my door for me. Inside smelt like leather and cleanliness.

"Do you not use this very often?" I asked Edward once he had sat down.

"No, only for special occasions." He replied smiling at me. He held my hand as we drove towards the school. When I was human I feared these kinds of things with a vengeance due to the risk of falling over my own feet. Now as a vampire, I had a feeling I would enjoy them a bit more.

We parked in the car park and Alice pulled up next to us with Jasper. On our other side was Rosalie's BMW so I presumed she had gotten here earlier.

"You ready?" asked Edward quietly. I nodded and he leant over to brush his lips over my cheek. He then got out and walked at human speed around to my door. I had wished he would kiss me on the lips, but he hadn't.

On the way into the gym, pictures were taken of each couple as they entered. I smiled and posed with Edward for ours before hurrying away. Pictures weren't my thing.

Some heavier music was playing in the background as we heading, with Alice and Jasper, over to where Emmett and Rosalie were stood. Rosalie made every girl who looked at her glare in jealousy and every guy's jaw drop with what she was wearing. An extremely low cut tight-fitting red satin dress which flowed down to the floor.

She made my self esteem take a big hit, so I tried to avoid looking at her, not that she wouldn't meet my eye anyway. We spoke idly for a few minutes before Edward led me to the dance floor.

A slow song was playing as we twirled our way around gracefully. I was sure I could feel many eyes on me but I couldn't bring myself to care whilst I was in Edward's arms. It was like everyone else didn't exist. I was happy.

Apparently none of the wolves had decided to turn up, which I was relieved at. I didn't want to put up with their glaring.

After a while we walked away from the dance floor and stood to the side. Angela and Ben came over timidly to say hi before quickly leaving. It was nice that she had done that, even though her instincts screamed for her to run and hide.

I danced with Emmett and Jasper as the night drew on and really began to enjoy myself. Later in the evening the DJ announced the last song so I walked over to Edward and led him to dance.

_Come and hold my hand  
I wanna contact the living  
Not sure I understand  
This role I've been given_

We danced around with my head on his chest. He held me tightly to him. I never wanted to let go.

_I don't wanna die  
But I ain't keen on living either  
Before I fall in love  
I'm preparing to leave her_

As the chorus kicked in I looked up into Edward golden eyes. They were burning with an intensity which should have scared me. His lips seemed to move impossibly closer to mine before eventually meeting.

_And I need to feel  
Real love and the love ever after  
I can not get enough_

I just wanna feel  
Real love feel the home that I live in  
I got too much love  
Running through my veins  
To go to waste

Our lips moved in synchronicity softly and gently as we revelled in the moment. It was the first time we had kissed since the weekend. I had missed the feeling of his lips upon mine. Neither of us was pushing for it to become more passionate. I wished this night would never end.

Something was stirring in me as a kissed him but I wasn't sure what it was. It was slowly building and it seemed to make my heart expand. This feeling scared and excited me. I wanted to know what it was.

Eventually we broke apart as the song ended and smiled at each other.

_Come and hold my hand  
I wanna contact the living  
Not sure I understand  
This role I've been given  
Not sure I understand  
Not sure I understand  
Not sure I understand  
Not sure I understand_

**

* * *

**

**The song is _Robbie Williams - Feel_. I won't be able to update until at least the 4th August, maybe later. Again, please review, it helps me and motivates me to keep writing. Any suggestions are wlecome. Thank you =]**

**XxX**


	20. Chapter 20

**I am so sorry that it had been so long since I updated. I have just been feeling crappy and helping my mum who isn't too well atm. Also i had writers block. I know these sound like loads of excuses but they're true. It was really hard to write this one and I had to think about it a lot. Hopefully things should be picking up soon with the story so keep reading :) Thank you to all the people who reviewed / added it to thier fav stories / story subscriptions, you people rock.**

**Anyways, on with the story**

* * *

The whole of the Cullen family and I were sat in their huge main room on Saturday. It was the weekend after the dance and we were waiting for the arrival of the Denali clan.

I rested my head on Edward's shoulder and he had his arm around me. The last week had been wonderful. Things were no longer awkward between us. He had spent much time at my house with me, reading, talking or dancing with me. It was nice to feel so calm around someone and to have someone close to me.

At this moment in time I wasn't feeling quite so calm. My self-confidence and self-esteem were just waiting to take a blow the minute I saw them. I listened to the cars flying by on the road, none of them slowing down at the Cullen's driveway.

Edward started rubbing circles on my arm to calm me down, probably having read Jasper's mind about my nervousness.

After five short minutes a car finally slowed down and made its way up the driveway. It pulled up outside and four doors opened and closed. I could hear them walking towards the door in silence before knocking. Carlisle was instantly there greeting them. After a murmuring of 'hello's and some hugs Carlisle led them into the main room.

Immediately behind him was a tall strawberry blonde woman who seemed impossibly beautiful. Behind her came two more, both having ebony hair and a strange olive like complexion to their pale skin. They were holding hands so I presumed that they were Carmen and Eleazar, the only couple in the coven. Two other people came last, one with long waist-length blonde hair, and the other with long straight grey hair.

They walked with as much elegance as Alice, or Rosalie, maybe even more. The strawberry blonde's eyes flitted around the room before they settled on me. She smiled slightly before my view of her was obscured by the rest of the Cullens jumping up and going to hug all of the Denali clan.

I stood on the sides as everyone greeted and hugged each other, asking how they had been and such. I felt very much out of it as I watched them all, feeling like I was intruding.

I watched as the strawberry blonde hugged Edward a little too personally for my liking, and didn't let go for a little longer than was necessary. With the way she looked at him when they pulled away I had the feeling that she liked him. It felt like a blow to the stomach. How was I supposed to compare to such a beautiful vampire?

Eventually all the hugging died down and everyone stood back. The strawberry-blonde one turned to me and spoke.

"Ah, so you must be Bella. I'm Tanya." She offered me her hand. Her Russian accent seemed more apparent than it was on the phone. I took her hand and shook it, smiling slightly. "This is Carmen and Eleazar," she pointed to the couple who I'd identified earlier. They waved at me. "And this is Kate and Irina," She pointed to the blonde haired woman and the grey haired woman respectively. They both said hi to me. Tanya then looked me up and down, as if she was scrutinizing my appearance. My clothes were nice, as usual, with Alice having picked them out, but I felt extremely dull beside Tanya. Her gaze made me feel uncomfortable.

Someone to my left coughed, interrupting her inspection, and we all then sat down around the room. The rest of the night was spent talking about how each of the families had been, what they had been doing and old stories of what had happened in the past. Tanya kept bringing up things that her and Edward had done, making me feel extremely jealous. I managed to keep myself in check though and not let anyone know.

Well anyone except Jasper, who could feel like and was looking at me with…sympathy. Of course he could feel how much it hurt me. I felt waves of reassurance hit me and I smiled at him.

After a few hours Alice and I went up to her room to get ready for the day ahead. I don't know if she had seen anything that would require me looking my best, but she worked on my hair and make-up for a while before planning my outfit. All the while we were chatting casually about the goings on at school.

"We're going to take the week off from school while the Denali clan are here. Our excuse is that we are hiking. It was hard to sort out with the principal, but we managed to get you the week of if you'd like it. The reason we've given him is that we've become very close and I want you to come along too, as your guardians are away are lot and you get lonely."

"That sounds great. Thanks Alice. Thanks Carlisle." I said at the same volume, knowing her would hear me. We chatted for a few more minutes before Edward appeared at the door.

"Bella love, we're going to go hunting with Tanya, Kate and Irina as they haven't hunted in quite a while. You can come along if you'd like. It's just me and Jasper who are going with them."

I considered spending more time with Tanya and the idea seemed unappealing. Though going along would mean I may be able to stop ay tricks she might pull. However I trusted Edward not to do anything so I wouldn't be required.

"No, that's ok. You go," I smiled him as sincerely as I could, and he seemed to buy it as he sped off downstairs.

I heard them leave the house as Alice pulled me to her bed.

"Tanya likes Edward. She always has and he has always turned her down. He isn't interested. You don't need to worry about it."

"Have you been talking to Jasper?" I asked, wondering how she knew about my insecurities.

"No, I'm just a girl, I know these things." She said, winking at me. I laughed at her before we carried on with makeover.

After we had finished we went downstairs to talk to Esme, who was planning on refurbishing the master bedroom. I offered a few suggestions which they gladly took on board. It felt nice to be joining in on the family activities.

My contentment quickly ended as the hunting group came back. They all ran into the kitchen, where we were sat. Tanya and Edward were joking about something, laughing and shoving each other. This time I didn't feel jealous, I just felt sad. I excused myself to go running outside to clear my mind.

The thrill of the trees rushing past me and the ground that all but disappeared under the incredible speed calmed me down and allowed me to think more clearly. I listened to the sound of the birds and other animals around me.

After a few minutes running I noticed Edward following me. I recognised the sound of his running, and no one else in the family would be able to catch up with me so it had to be him. I slowed down to a stop and Edward stopped next to me.

"Are you all right?" He asked, frowning slightly as he looked at me with a worried gaze.

"Why didn't you tell me that Tanya liked you?" I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush. I didn't usually deal with things head on, but I wanted to get this sorted so my thoughts could settle down. At the moment it was like there was a hurricane in my head and my thoughts were caught in it, swirling round.

"I didn't think it was important. I don't return her feelings. Plus I like you far more than I ever could like her, even if I tried." I didn't ask any more questions, slightly comforted by his kind and soothing words. He pulled me into his chest and held me there. I sighed and nuzzled his neck happily. I could have stayed like that forever.

Eventually we had to move and head back to the house. We went straight up to Edward's room and lay on his new bed. He had insisted on buying it so we could relax together like we did on the weekend at the cabin. I was curious about his intent at first but it seemed innocent enough…for now.

I turned to face him and pressed a kiss onto his jaw. He turned towards me more and laid a kiss on my lips. I reciprocated with enthusiasm and soon we were tangled together in a lusty make out session. Too soon though, we slowed down to some loving pecks and looking into each others eyes. I felt that stirring in my chest again as I looked upon his glorious face. I wanted to know what it was.

…

Throughout the rest of the week we did various activities together such as shopping, a race from Port Angeles to Victoria and back underwater, avoiding all ships and other obstacles. I didn't join in on that; instead I took to watching along with Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle. Jasper won. Apparently Edward was only the fastest on land.

The week was fun, except from the subtle flirting by Tanya towards Edward. She touched him for longer than necessary, laughed at anything that he said which was remotely funny and she was always recalling things that they had done together. It was infuriating but the most annoying thing was that Edward didn't discourage her.

On the Thursday Tanya decided that we should all go for a run around the Olympic National Park. Most people agreed to go, but Jasper and I decided to stay. He said he had paperwork he wanted to sort out and I just didn't feel like going.

After I convinced Edward to go without me and went up to his room and sat on the balcony railings. I thought about all the things that Tanya was good at that I wasn't. How she was a much better partner for Edward, and I wondered why he never said yes to her.

Jasper came up after ten minutes and stood beside me.

"Your feelings have been all over the place lately." He said. I nodded in agreement. They were still in the hurricane in her mind. It had settled down after Edward's comforting, but now it was worse than ever thanks to Tanya's flirting.

"You don't have anything to worry about. I know you feel insecure, sad, hurt, and jealous and many more things but you have no reason to. You doubt what Edward said. Why?" I wasn't surprised that Jasper knew that Edward had spoken to me, there seemed to be no secrets in this family.

"How am I supposed to know that he isn't just saying what I want to hear when it is pretty obvious that I can't really compare to Tanya." I growled in frustration. It seemed all the worse now that I had voiced my fears.

"He isn't. I can tell how sincere he is by how he feels. When he looks at you he feels lo…longing, he likes you and he doesn't notice Tanya's not so subtle flirting. He feels no lust, guilt or pleasure when she does it, so he basically isn't noticing what she is doing. When you touch him he feels content and happy. And you do compare to Tanya. The only reason she is doing this is because she knows that she has a problem. You are just as, if not more, beautiful than Tanya, and she feels threatened. Trust me," He touched my back before returned to the library below.

I thought a lot over what he said, and eventually I accepted his words. It seemed to make sense, apart from the being as beautiful as Tanya. I could never match up to her or any of her sisters. I know looks weren't supposed to matter, but when you have a painfully beautiful vampire going after your…well boyfriend I suppose; it doesn't do much for your confidence.

When they returned from their run I smiled as I heard Edward's voice. It was the first proper smile since they'd arrived. I had to trust in his and Jasper's words that it was me who he wanted.

* * *

**Thoughts? Opinion? Good? Bad? Please let me know because I was uncertain about this chapter. If you didn't like it let me know how I could improve it. Thanks :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**I'm a crappy author i know. I feel awful for not updating sooner, Thanks to _SomebodyPaperCutMe-Jasper _for making me get my arse in gear. Anyways, got a few chapters for you now. Hope you like.**

* * *

Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and I were all out at the front of the house. The guys were throwing a sturdy metal ball between them, Rosalie and Alice were discussing fashion and I was watching Edward. Everybody else in the household had gone hunting.

The peace in his face made me happy as he joked around with his brothers. It would definitely become a cherished memory of hopefully thousands we will make together. At that moment Alice stopped talking and Edward looked towards her in horror.

Less than a second had passed and they disappeared, running towards the road. The rest of us briefly shared a glance before following. It seemed none of us knew why they had taken off. I presumed Alice had seen something, and Edward had seen it in her mind.

Jasper lead the group, as he was the fastest after Edward, but I came closely behind, both of us worried for the safety of our other halves and what danger they may be running into.

Their trail led us towards my house and as we neared I heard the sounds of fighting. It was too loud and I was sure someone would notice. I prayed that no one would look out of their windows.

As we reached the back yard of my house, we saw Edward flipping another unknown vampire over his shoulder and Alice grabbed his neck and pulled him to the floor. They worked in amazing synchronicity. Edward shirt was slightly torn but other than he seemed unharmed.

The other vampire lay unmoving. He had light brown hair and seemed to be no older than 15 when turned. His eyes were a vivid red.

"Let's take this inside." Said Alice. She looked around. Evidently she didn't want anyone to see. Edward pulled the other vampire to his feet. After our arrival he seemed to see no point in fighting anymore.

We entered through my back door and stood around our kitchen, forcing the vampire into the corner. It seemed as though he was about to be interrogated. All I wanted to know was why he was here, at my house.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Asked Edward in a scarily detached voice that I had never heard him used. It scared me slightly. The vampire made no effort to reply or look at any of us.

Emmett moved forward and punched him hard in the ribs. He made a slight hiss and looked around at us.

"I'm called Riley. I'm here to investigate this house." He muttered quietly, clearly not liking the situation.

"He's here for Bella's clothes." Edward said, looking frozen in place and he read every thought which crossed Riley's mind. "Who are you with?"

"She warned me about you! Stop reading my mind!" He shouted at Edward, a look of horror on his face.

"A woman called Victoria. A man called James." A pause of a few seconds, before Edward continued. "They're building an army of new borns."

Riley muttered something incomprehensible and fell to the floor. He looked around us scared. I could make out some words, 'she's going to kill me', he kept repeating,

"How long until they come?" Asked Alice. I was shocked that she didn't already know. Something was wrong here.

"You won't get anymore out of him." Edward whispered looking towards the floor. "Alice, Rosalie, take Bella back to the house. We'll follow shortly."

All the time he spoke he never looked me in the eye. I didn't like what was happening. They both nodded, and Alice took one of the arms, leading me out of my own house. Rosalie strode in front and once we were clear we started running. But not quick enough. I still heard the shrieks of metal and vampire skin tore apart. As they killed Riley.

* * *

"Bella, please talk to me." Edward said through the door. We girls had been back for ten minutes before the boys returned. Alice had taken me straight up to her room while Rosalie ran off to find Carlisle and explain everything to him and the others. I was in shock, and my mind was racing. I felt cruel but I just couldn't see him right now. I'd see Riley in the mud on his clothes and the rip of his shirt. I'd smell him on Edward. Alice had quickly washed and gotten changed. I was grateful.

"Listen Edward. She's in shock. Just go and find the others and help Rosalie explain. You have a better insight as to what he was thinking." Alice insisted. He could easily open the door and force his way in but he was too much of a gentleman to even consider that. I almost smiled at the thought. Almost

"Fine. When I get back, please talk to me Bella. I need to see that you are ok." With that he ran out of the house with Jasper and Emmett, leaving it silent. They seemed to appreciated our need for privacy.

"Edward didn't want you to see that. It's why he sent you away with us. Death is an unfortunate but inevitable part of your world. You get used to it." She said grimly. I nodded silently as I mulled over everything in my head.

The fact that he went to _my_ house to take _my _clothes seemed to show that it was me whom they wanted. I couldn't be sure, but if that were the case, I couldn't allow the newborns to come here to find me. The risk of them massacring the small village was too great. Even greater was the risk to my family.

I had to think, where I was free to make my own decisions without Alice seeing them.

"Where are they Alice?" I asked, keeping my mind free from making any decisions. She briefly appeared suspicious before replying.

"In Seattle. I got flashes of an unused warehouse from Riley at the very beginning, escape plans, before he realised it was futile.

"I want to see Jacob." I told her. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I'm not sure that..."

"Come on Alice. I don't need protecting, but Jacob and Seth can do so perfectly fine. An attack isn't imminent. I just need to get away." I knew that this was my only opportunity to get away as Edward was absent. He would never allow this, but I know Alice would appreciate my need for space.

"Fine. But take my phone." She threw me some keys. "Don't scratch my baby." I gaped at her, shocked that she would let me drive her Porsche. I hugged her.

"Thank you so much Alice. I love you." She seemed shocked by my sudden show of affection, but before she had chance to respond I had set off running to the garage. Only a few seconds later I was speeding out of the garage and down the driveway.

I dialled Jacob's mobile number and he picked up after a few rings.

"Hey Jake, what's your address?" He gave me the details for his apartment and I hung up.

I remembered the place from a map I had viewed of the town before I came here. Photographic memory was very useful.

Soon I pulled up in front of the apartment block. I walked over to the door and pressed the buzzer for their number. Seth answered and buzzed me into the block.

The door was open before I had even got there.

"Bella! I was beginning to think that you had forgotten us." Said Seth, while pulling me into a quick hug.

"Things have just been pretty hectic recently Seth." He must have detected something off in my tone, as his brow furrowed.

"What' up," he asked while leading me into the main room. I resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose at the undiluted wet-dog scent. I sat down in their simple second-hand settee next to Seth. Just then, Jacob came in through the front door and ran into the main room. He took one look at my face before speaking.

"What's the matter Bella?" He walked over to the settee and knelt in front of me.

I proceeded to explain about the Denali clan and Tanya's flirting and finally, Riley. They were shocked into silence for a few minutes.

"We have to tell Sam. Get the pack in action. He'll want to protect La Push. You vampires can protect Forks..."

"Relax! We have a day I think. They'll wait for Riley. When he doesn't return they'll hunt and move I presume." Both guys nodded at my logic. "I want you to do something for me Jake.

"Just tell me what it is." I considered my words carefully.

"I need you to take me to Seattle." He instantly opened his mouth to argue. "Wait! It is purely reconnaissance. I can't go with other vampires because their scent would be too much of a giveaway. You scent will cloud mine better and reduce the risk of them detecting me." He opened his mouth and closed it, formulating a response.

"Can't someone else go?" He asked.

"I'm the best choice. Their mental abilities, should they have any, won't affect me. I get along with you. I also know Seattle well." Jacob looked at Seth, who shrugged.

"I suppose it makes sense. But you'd have to listen to me. The slightest bit of danger and we run. Yes? _We run_." He said with finality. I nodded. "No, _say it_. Promise me."

"I promise." I looked into his eyes. "We can't go until nightfall, so I was hoping you would take me to the library so we can research."

He nodded and followed me back to my car. Seth said he was going to stay behind. We got into the car and headed to the library. All the way Jake was checking out the car in awe. I ignored the looks we got from people on the street.

The library was small, but had a few outdated computers with internet access.

I got Jacob to look at warehouses which were abandoned, empty or recently rented out. I personally took some paper from the main desk and sat on a table in the corner. I tapped the pen against the paper repeatedly trying to think of what to write. The first one was easier than the second.

The words finally came to me. I finished writing and asked the librarian for two envelopes, put the writing in it and found Jake, who was waiting for me with a pile of papers printed from the computer. We walked out of the door together.

The freeway was dark, as this particular stretch had no lights. It didn't affect Jacob's driving or my eyesight, it just gave an eerie feeling to everything.

We had highlighted a few of the more likely places for the vampires to be hiding. Those were the places that we were heading to tonight. I had viewed a map of Seattle and had it firmly placed in my mind.

Once we reached the city I gave direction to Jacob to the first place. It was an old run-down place which held nothing but a few used syringes and rubbish. The next place was no better.

Before long we had one more place left on the agenda. We parked the car a couple of blocks away.

"I'll scale the building." I mouthed, before running around the place. We were both being especially quiet to avoid possible detection. At each place I scaled the building to see possible entry sights and other things which may be of interest.

Soon enough I was back standing next to Jacob. I whispered the next part.

"Go around the back and enter that way. I'll take the front. There are some ladders which lead up to an old balcony, allowing you to look inside through some windows. Be careful." He nodded and ran around to the other side of the building. I entered silently through the front and immediately, the scent of vampires hit me. I took a deep breath and took out my phone. I sent a text to Jacob.

_Danger. Go back to the car. Will meet you there._

_Bella._

I didn't turn around. I carried on walking forward until I came into the main part of the warehouse. In the middle were several vampires, talking, playing games and generally finding ways to pass the time. Behind them stood a beautiful female with red eyes, she appeared fierce but amazing at the same time, with her think, curly red hair which reached her lower back. Her eyes fixed on me.

A man was stood next to her, and he noticed her distraction. His eyes turned to me and widened. A creepy smile appeared on his face.

"Bella."

* * *

**Let me know what ya think**


	22. Chapter 22

**Shorter chapter but important**

* * *

**Jacob POV**

I ran back to the car quickly, trusting Bella to be waiting for me. She was quicker than me and was probably running as she texted me.

To see only the car as I rounded the corner was a surprise. I looked around but I couldn't see, hear or smell her. I grew suspicious as I approached the car. I opened the driver's door and saw Bella's coat there. I picked it up so I could sit down, but as I did so I noticed two letters lying on the seat. Once addressed to me, and one to Edward.

I took the one addressed to me and smelled it. It smelt of clean paper, adhesive, ink and Bella. Considering it safe, I opened it and read the letter inside.

_Jacob,_

_You are a better friend than I could wish for. It makes lying to you that much harder. I broke my promise if you are reading this. It means I will probably never see you again. Don't come looking, I'll have made sure to have moved by now so you will not get hurt or killed. All I ask is that you explain to my family what has happened and deliver the other letter to Edward. I don't deserve this of you, but all I can do is hope that you will appreciate my family's need to know of this._

_I hope you have a happy and long life._

_Bella_

_X_

I stood in shock, staring at the letter, hoping for the words to change and that she would magically appear next to me. She couldn't be gone. I was vaguely aware of the tears rolling my cheek. Some young lads walked past eyeing the car and giving me a strange look. However the glare I gave them made them speed up a bit.

I got into the car and closed the door. Edward's letter was in the seat next to me. I had an urge to rip it up. If she hadn't known him or his family, surely this wouldn't have happened. This had to be their fault.

I didn't understand anything about the situation, and I had to do as Bella said. Not for Edward's sake, but for his family. I knew some of them to be seemingly decent people, such as the doctor and the psychic.

How did the psychic not know? Oh, yeah. She was with me. How stupid could I have been?

I wiped the tears from my face and put the car in gear. The drive home was fairly automatic as my mind seemed to switch off from an overload of information. Before I realised it, I was turning down the driveway which I believed lead to their house. The scent was there even on the road. I closed the air vents in a hope reduce the scent. Bella still lingered in the car.

The psychic was waiting at the door for me. I got out of the car, and she looked angry.

"What have you done? Where is Bella, and why can't I see very far into her future at the moment?" She fumed up at me, not bothered by the huge difference in our height.

"Let me explain everything to everyone at once. I don't want to speak more than once." I said, my voice low and demanding. I couldn't handle reiterating it more than once. She glared, but nodded and led me into their mansion.

Inside was beautifully furnished, but I couldn't concentrate on that at the moment. In the main room was the rest of the family. All pale, still and sickly sweet.

"Explain." Demanded the psychic.

"Alice, do not be so rash and ill mannered. I take it you are Jacob. My name is Carlisle. This is my family..." he pointed to them and told me their names. "Would you care to explain where Bella is. I have been told that you were the last one to see her." I nodded.

"Bella came over to mine in Alice's car. She told me about everything that had happened lately and that she needed some time away from it all. She said that she had to do reconnaissance in Seattle about the vampires there. I tried to argue but she shot down my points. She convinced me that you had insisted that she go."

"You believed her?" Said the one called Rosalie. "I don't know Bella very well, but even I can see that she is the self-sacrifice sort. Weren't you even cautious with her? You couldn't have checked?"

"She had a very convincing argument and I don't have any of _your_ numbers on speed dial I'm afraid. Let me carry on. We went to the library to research some possible warehouses where they could be and came up with a few places. We headed out when dusk came and checked out the places. All the first ones came up empty, but the last one didn't.

"Bella scaled the building and told me to go around the back and she would take the front. I ran around but before I had even reached the back I got a text from her telling me to go back to the car and meet her there. I did and she didn't turn up. There were two notes left. Here."

I handed Edward his letter. He took it from e with stiff actions while glaring at me. He opened it and scanned through it. Quicker than I thought possible for a vampire he disappeared out of the room.

"Try her cell phone." Suggested a tall brown haired female, looking after Edward with a mother's concern on her face. She must be Esme. Emmett took his out and dialled. He shook his head.

"Can't connect. Phone has been trashed or something." He said.

"What can we do?" asked Alice. "I can't see further than five minutes into the future. It is as if she is deliberately blocking me. She doesn't want to be found."

"Let's go to that warehouse. Check it out." Suggested Jasper. Everybody nodded.

"She said not to in her letter to me. She said she would ensure to have moved on by now so we wouldn't get hurt." I mumbled, knowing they could hear me. Everyone was silent, thinking of things to do, but no one could think of anything.

We sat in silence.

**EPOV**

Where could she be? All Alice could see was her sitting in a warehouse. I had a horrible suspicion what it could be, but I didn't want to think that. We had to get her back as soon as possible. She wasn't answering her cell phone and the dog wasn't with her. I was going to murder him should Bella fall into any harm.

I heard a car pulling up to the drive and heard Jacob's mind. His thoughts were swirling out of control but what I could pick up on made me feel sick.

I joined the rest of the family in the main room to hear what he had to say. I kept quiet and very still through his explanation, partly through shock, and another was fear of what I may do to him should I move.

When Jacob offered me the letter took all my strength not to rip his arm from its socket. He left her. How could he? I glared at him instead as I took the letter from him hand.

I opened the letter and scanned through her scruffy script quickly.

_Edward,_

_Firstly I want to apologise to you. I should have told you what I was planning, but doing so would make it so that you wouldn't allow me to leave._

_By the time you read this I will be long gone. I don't know what will happen to me, and it scares me._

_Don't be angry, it is the right thing to do. I think it is me who they want, so I am going to them before they can come here. I can't stand the thought of anyone dying because of me. If it isn't me who they want, well at least I can say I tried._

_Should my plan fail and you still have to fight, then get from the wolves. Talk to Jacob and don't allow your differences allow people to die. Form an allegiance._

_Jacob doesn't know any of this. I lied to him. Don't hate him. He isn't to blame._

_Tell your family thank-you._

_I love you,_

_Bella_

I had to get away – away from here – away from everything. I ran and let my feet take me away. I didn't think, all I could feel was anguish, as if my heart was being ripped in two, and the other half belonged elsewhere. Somewhere where I could never go again.

The first time she said that she loved me, it was as a goodbye.

I didn't have any pictures, nothing special from our time together, nothing physical to hold. She was gone, and all I had were the happy memories which she had left me with.

It was so sudden. How could she go? How could she just leave? I had to tell her that I loved her too. That I wanted to spend eternity with her, learn every little thing about her and marry her.

I felt truly alone.


	23. Chapter 23

**Last chapter I have pre-prepared but I'm planning the next one.**

* * *

"Hold her." Ordered the female in high pitched sugary voice that didn't match her appearance. Two vampires came at me from either side and held my arms. I tried to pull away but they were too strong. I felt my phone ringing in my pocket. I knew that the others would have noticed, but they gave no indication.

"Don't resist Isabella. You won't get away. Especially now that I have you back." He smirked and started walking over to me.

"I don't even know who you are. I've never met you. What do you mean, have me back?" I said, getting more and more scared by the second. He didn't stop walking until he was stood directly in front of me. He ran the back of his fingers across my cheek and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I made you." He whispered into my ear. I shook my head in disbelief.

"No! No, you couldn't have. _You?_" He leered at me analysing every part of me. I wanted to move but the vampires held me steady.

"Don't sound so shocked. I'm sure you had no idea who did actually make you. I've been searching for a long time Isabella. Searching for you, as I was denied you so long ago."

"What do you mean?" I wanted everything explained, I felt as though there was something major which I was missing out on and I didn't like it.

"I made you that night. I bit you in that alley and took you to that room while you changed. I had been following you around, watching you, waiting for the perfect moment. You were so beautiful and innocent and I wanted you. I took you, and on the final night of your change another vampire found me. He was aware of my... _infatuation_ with you and he didn't want me to do anything. He came, we fought, he lost. But when I returned you had gone. I couldn't find you for some reason. You had been long gone."

I gaped at him. How could this monster have made me? This sick twisted man.

"And now that I have you, you aren't going anywhere. Should you try...we'll take all of these vampires to Forks with us and visit the coven you have been staying with. I'm sure that they will be happy to see us." He smiled at me, as if he didn't realise that he had just hinted about killing several vampires. He had no conscience.

I was silent. The two vampires released me on James' orders and I didn't run. I couldn't. He had me trapped.

"Good girl. Everybody, pack up. We're moving. We need to get away from here, otherwise I may have no threat with which to keep dear Bella here, should her family come running. There shall no family left once they meet our army." He smiled at me again and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

They had planned their route out fairly quickly, and before long we were all running. James and Victoria led us, with the rest of the vampires surrounding me while we ran. They planned to run over Mt. Rainier national park, across Oregon and Nevada and into Utah. We took a fairly quiet route, mainly across uninhabited areas and eventually arrived in Utah. Again we took residence in an abandoned warehouse.

There were 12 newborns with us. Luckily no fights had broken out yet and everything was fairly happy. One girl had sat next to me on my crate in the warehouse. We said nothing, but she was giving me comfort by her presence. She seemed slightly older than the others and more in control.

"I think we should go hunting. Come," said Victoria all of a sudden. Everyone rose to follow her but I hesitated.

"Ah, a vegetarian. Your yellow eyes gave you away. Well we shall have to rectify that." Said James, smirking as per usual.

He took half of the group plus me, and Victoria took the rest.

Our group was left to go free, as James didn't really care about them. It was me who he was interested in.

He dragged me down a back alley where we found a couple entwined passionately against the wall. James pulled the man off and instantly sank his teeth into his flesh. I looked on in horror at the sight before me. I could see the man's panicked face as his life flashed before his eyes. Before that life disappeared James stopped drinking and threw the man towards me.

I caught him and the scent of his blood invaded my nostrils. I held my breath and glared at James. The woman chose that moment to try and run but James grabbed her.

"Ah no my dear. You shall stay and watch your partner's life disappear from his eyes as my beautiful Isabella drains him of all his blood."

"No. I won't. It's wrong." I told him. The woman looked at his as if he were crazy. The fear was evident, I could smell the adrenaline in her blood and the sweat on her skin.

"Go on, take a swig. It is glorious after all. I'm sure that you have tasted it before. Do you remember the heat? The salty taste and it go down your throat? Simply fantastic. Hurry up before his heart gives in." I shook my head and closed my eyes. I didn't want to think about it, it would be so much harder to resist. James growled.

I felt the man being snatched from my arms. I opened my eyes as James snapped his neck before turning around to drain the woman. I felt like crying. I felt tainted by the death, it surrounded me like a thick fog.

"Fine then. You shall starve, and then we'll see how resistant you are to human blood after months of being thirsty." He slapped me across my face, the force knocking me to the ground. "You're not what I expected. But you will be."

I was dragged back to the warehouse, but in a cage and guarded at all times. The cage couldn't do much, it was for effect.

I was never left unguarded for weeks and weeks on end. Each week we'd move somewhere else, and each of my arms were held firmly as we'd travel: Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico and finally Arizona.

All the while they trained the newborns in fighting skills, teaching them battle techniques which Emmett and Jasper had taught me what seemed like long ago.

I grew weaker and weaker. My eyes would probably be impossibly black, my strength was so diminished that I probably couldn't break the bars on my cage if I tried. I needed to be carried now to ensure that I would reach our destinations. I felt pathetic.

When we came to Arizona, it was obvious where James wanted to go: Phoenix.

He found us an old ballet studio to stay in. I vaguely recognised it, but wasn't sure why. Maybe I used to go there. My mind was weakened and well as my body, and I could barely recall my memories.

* * *

**I don't know much about American geography or anything, so I apologise if it doesn't make any sense as to where they are travelling. Did my best to try and research it.**


End file.
